
iiii^mm 




:i 



THE 



STORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 



AND 



OUR NEW POSSESSIONS, 



INCLUDING 



The Ladrones, Hawaii, Cuba and Porto Rico, 




:^f-Z 



^ 



X 



/ 




THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANPf 




HE STORY OF THE 



PHILIPPINES 



NATURAL RICHES, INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES, STATISTICS OF PRODUCTIONS, COMMERCE 

AND POPULATION; THE LAWS, HABITS, CUSTOMS, SCENERY AND CONDITIONS 

OF THE CUBA OF THE EAST INDIES AND THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 

OF THE ARCHIPELAGOES OF INDIA AND HAWAII, WITH 

EPISODES OF THEIR EARLY HISTORY 



THE ELDORADO OF THE ORIENT 



Personal Character Sketches of and Interviews with Admiral Dewey, General Merritt, 
General Aguinaldo and the Archbishop of Manila. 



HISTORY AND ROMANCE, TRAGEDIES AND 
TRADITIONS OF OUR PACIFIC POSSESSIONS. 



EVENTS OF THE WAR IN THE WEST WITH SPAIN, AND THE CONQUEST OF CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 

BY MURAT HALSTEAD, 

War Correspondent in America and Europe, Historian of the Philippine Expedition. 



Splendidly and Picturesquely Illustrated with Half-Tone Engravings from Photographs, Etchings 

from Special Drawings, and the Military Maps of the Philippines, Prepared 

by the War Department of the United States. 



OUR POSSESSIONS PUBLISHING CO. 



Copyrighted, 1898, bv 

H. L. BARB-BK, 

Chicago, Hi., U. S. A. 



LC Control Number 




2001 529894 



The engravings in this volume were 
made from original photographs, ana 
are specially protected by copyright; and 
notice is hereby given, that any person 
or persons guilty of reproducing or in- 
fringing upon the copyright in any way 
will be dealt with according to law. 



INSCRIBED 
TO THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS 

OF 

THE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

With Admiration for Their Achievements 

In the War With Spain; 

Gratitude for the Glory They Have Gained for the American Nation, 

And Congratulations That All the People of All the 

Country Rejoice in the Cloudless Splendor of Their Fame 

That is the Common and Everlasting 

Inheritance of Americans. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE 



The purpose of the writer of the pages herewith presented has been to offer, in 
popular form, the truth touching the Philippine Islands. I made the journey from 
New York to Manila, to have the benefit of personal observations in preparing a 
history for the people. Detention at Honolulu shortened my stay in Manila, but 
there was much in studies at the former place that was a help at the latter. The 
original programme was for me to accompany General Merritt, Commander-in-Chief 
of the Philippine Expedition, but illness prevented its full realization, and when I 
arrived in Manila Bay the city had already been ^^occupied and possessed" by the 
American army; and the declaration of peace between the United States and Spain 
was made, the terms fully agreed upon with the exception of the settlement of 
the affairs of the Philippines. While thus prevented from witnessing stirring mili- 
tary movements other than those attending the transfer of our troops across the 
Pacific Ocean, an event in itself of the profoundest significance, the reference of 
the determination of the fate of the Philippine Islands to the Paris Conference, and 
thereby to the public opinion of our country, in extraordinary measure increased 
the general sensibility as to the situation of the southern Oriental seas affecting our- 
selves, and enhanced the value of the testimony taken on the spot of observers of 
experience, with the training of journalism in distinguishing the relative pertinence 
and potency of facts noted. Work for more than forty years, in the discussion 
from day to day of current history, has qualified me for the efficient exercise of my 
faculties in the labor undertaken. It has been my undertaking to state that which 
appeared to me, so that the reader may find pictures of the scenes that tell the 
Story that concerns the country, that the public may with enlightenment solve 
the naval, military, political, commercial and religious problems we are called upon 
by the peremptory pressure of the conditions local, and international, to solve im- 
mediately. This we have to do, facing the highest obligations of citizenship in the 
great American Eepublic, and conscious of the incomparably influential character of 
the principles that shall prevail through the far-reaching sweep of the policies that 

13 



14 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 

will be evolved. I have had such advantages in the assurance of the authenticity of 
the information set forth in the chapters following, that I may be permitted to name 
those it was my good fortune to consult with instructive results; and in making the 
acknowledgments due. I may be privileged to support the claim of diligence and 
success in the investigations made, and that I am warranted in the issue of this 
Story of the Philippines by the assiduous improvement of an uncommon opportunity 
to fit myself to serve the country. 

Indebtedness for kind consideration in this work is gratefully acknowledged to 
Major-General Merritt, commanding the Phihppine Expedition; Major-General Otis, 
who succeeds to the duties of military and civil administration in the conquered 
capital of the. islands; Admiral George Dewey, who improved, with statesmanship, 
his unparalleled victory in the first week of the war with Spain, and raised the 
immense questions before us; General F. V. Greene, the historian of the Russo- 
Turkish war, called by the President to Washington, and for whose contri- 
butions to the public intelligence he receives the hearty approval and confi- 
dence of the people; Major Bell, the vigilant and efficient head of the Bureau of 
Information at the headquarters of the American occupation in the Philippines; 
General Aguinaldo, the leader of the insurgents of his race in Luzon, and His Grace 
the Archbishop of Manila, who gave me a message for the United States, expressing 
his appreciation of the excellence of the behavior of the American army in the 
enforcement of order, giving peace of mind to the residents in the distracted city of (all 
persuasions and conditions, and of the service that was done civilization in the 
prevention, by our arms, of threatened barbarities that had caused sore apprehen- 
sion; and, I may add, the Commissioner of the Organized People of the Philippines, 
dispatched to Washington accompanying General Greene; and of the citizens of 
Manila of high character, and conductors of business enterprises with plants in the 
community whose destiny is in the hands of strangers. 

These gentlemen I may not name, for there are uncertainties that demand of 
them and command me to respect the prudence of their inconspicuity. This volume 
seems to me to be justified, and I have no further claim to offer that it is meri- 
torious than that it is faithful to facts and true to the country in advocacy of the 
continued expansion of the Republic, whose field is the world. 
Steamship China, Pacific Ocean, September 20, 1898. 



THE ORIGIN OF THIS STORY OF THE 
PHILIPPINES. 



The letter following is the full expression by the author of this volume of his 
purposes and principles in making the journey to the East Indies. 

GOING TO THE PHILIPPINES. 

Washington City, D. C, July 18. 
With the authorization of the Military Authorities, I shall go to the Philippine 
Islands with General Merritt, the Military Governor, and propose to make the 
American people better acquainted with that remarkable and most important and 
interesting country. The presence of an American army in the Philippines is an 
event that will change broad and mighty currents in the world's history. It has 
far more significance than anything transpiring in the process of the conquest of 
the West India possessions of Spain, for the only question there, ever since the 
Continental colonies of the Spanish crown won their independence, has been the 
extent of the sacrifices the Spaniards, in their haughty and vindictive pride, vrould 
make in fighting for a lost Empire and an impossible cause with an irresistible 
adversary. That the time was approaching when, with the irretrievable steps of the 
growth of a living Nation of free people, we would reach the point where it should be 
our duty to accept the responsibility of the dominant American power, and accomplish 
manifest Destiny by adding Cuba and Porto Eico to our dominion, has for half a cen- 
tury been the familiar understanding of American citizens. Spain, by her abhorrent sys- 
tem, personified in We3der, and illustrated in the murderous blowing up of the Maine 
with a mine, has forced this duty upon us; and though we made war unprepared, the 
good work is going on, and the finish of the fight will be the relegation of Spain, 
whose colonial governments have been, without exception, disgraceful and disastrous 
to herself, and curses to the colonists, to her own peninsula. This will be for her own 
good, as well as the redemption of mankind from her unwholesome foreign influ- 
' ences, typified as they are in the beautiful city of Havana, which has become the 

15 



16 THE OEIGIX OF THIS STOEY. 

center of political plagues and pestilential fevers, ^'liose contagion lias at frequent 
intervals reached our own shores. 

In the Philippine Islands the situation is for us absolutely novel. It cannot 
be said to be out of the scope of reasonable American expansion and is in the 
right line of enlarging the area of enlightenment and stimulating the progress of 
civilization. The unexpected has happened, but it is not illogical. It must have been 
written long ago on the scroll of the boundless blue and the stars. The incident 
of war was the "rush" order of the President of the United States to Admiral Dewey 
to destroy the Spanish fleet at Manila, for the protection of our commerce. The deed 
was done with a flash of lightning, and lo! we hold the goldei? key of a splendid 
Asiatic archipelago of a thousand beautiful and richly endowed islands in our grip. 
This is the most brilliant and startling achievement in the annals of navies. Xever 
before had the sweep of sea power, ordered through the wires that make the world's 
continents, oceans and islands one huge whispering gallery, such striking exempliti- 
cation. There was sflorv and fame in it. and immeasurable material for the makins: 
of history. "We may paraphrase Dr. Johnson's celebrated advertisement of the 
widow's brewery by saying: Admiral Dewey's victory was not merely the capture of 
a harbor commanding a great citj', one of the superb places of the earth, and the 
security of a base of operations to wait for reinforcements commensurate with the 
resources of the United States of America — the victorious hero fixed his iron hand 
upon a wonderful opportunity it was the privilege of our Government to secure at 
large, according to the rights of a victorious IN'ation for the people thereof — a chance 
for the youth of America, like that of the youth of Great Britain, to realize upon the 
magnificence of India; and this is as Dr. Johnson said of the vats and barrels of the 
Thralc estate — "the potentiality of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice." It is a 
new departure, but not a matter for the panic or apprehension of conservatism, that 
the Stars and Stripes fioat as the symbol of sovereignty over a groiip of islands in 
the waters of Asia, that are equal to all the West Indies. If we are strangers there 
now we shall not be so long. We have a front on the Pacific Ocean, of three great 
States — Washington, equal to England; Oregon, whose grandeur rolls in the sound of 
her famous name, and incomparable California, whose title will be the synonym of 
golden good times forever. The Philippines are southwest from our western front 
doors. They have been the islands of our sunsets in the winter. Now they look to us 
for the rosy dawn out of which will come the clear brightness of the white light of 
mornings and the fullness of the ripening noons, all the year around. With our 
bulk of the North American continent bulging into both the great oceans, it was 
foreordained since the beginning when God created the earth, that we, the possessors 



THE OEIGIX OF THIS STOEY. 17 

of this imperial American zone, should be a great Asiatic Power. We have it now 
in evidence, written in islands among the most gorgeous of those that shine in the 
Southern seas — islands that are east from the Atlantic and west from the Pacific 
shores of the One Great Eepublic — that we may personify hereafter, sitting at the 
head of the table when the empires of the earth consult themselves as to the courses 
of empire. Our Course of Empire is both east and west. 

The contact of American and Asiatic civilization in the Philippines, with the 
American army there, superseding the Spaniards, will be memorable as one of the 
matters of chief moment in the closing days of the nineteenth century, and remem- 
bered to date from for a thousand years. It is my ^Durpose to write of this current 
history while it is a fresh, sparkling stream, and attempt something more than the 
recitation of the news of the day, as it is condensed and restrained 
in telegrams; to give it according to the extent of my ability and the 
advantages of my opportunity, the local coloring, the characteii^itic scenery; the 
pen pictures of the people and their pursuits; sketches of the men who are doers of 
deeds that make history; studies of the wa3'S and means of the islanders; essays to 
indicate the features of the picturesque of the strange mixture of races; the revolu- 
tionary evolutions of j^olitics; the forces that pertain to the mingling of the religions 
of the Occident and the Orient, in a chemistry untried through the recorded ages'. 
It is a tremendous canvas upon which I am to labor, and I know full well how inade- 
quate the production must be, and beg that this index m^ay not be remembered 
against me. It is meant in all modesty, and I promise only that there will be put 
into the task the expertness of experience and the endeavor of industry. 



/ 



CONTENTS. 



AUTHOE'S PREFACE 13-14 

THE ORIGIN OF THIS STORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 15-17 



CHAPTER I. 

ADMIRAL DEWEY ON HIS FLAGSHIP. 

A Stormy Day on Manila Bay — Call on Admiral Dewey — The Man in 
White — He Sticks to His Ship — How He Surprised the Spaniards — 
Every Man Did His Duty on May-Day — How Dewey Looks and 
Talks — What He Said About War With Germany in Five Minutes — 
Feeds His Men on "Delicious" Fresh Meat from Australia — Pho- 
tography Unjust to Him 29-37 



CHAPTER 11. 

LIFE IN MANILA. 

Character of the Filipinos — Drivers Lashing Laboring Men in the Streets — 
What Americans Get in Their Native xlir — The Logic of Destiny 
— Manila as She Fell Into Our Hands — The Beds in the Tropics — 
A Spanish Hotel — Profane Yells for Ice — Sad Scenes in the Din- 
ing Room — Major-General Calls for "Francisco" — A Broken- 
Hearted Pantry Woman 38-44 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. 

Across the Continent — An American Governor-General Steams Through 
the Golden Gate — He is a Minute-Man — Honolulu as a Health 
Resort — The Lonesome Pacific — The Skies of Asia — Dreaming 
Under the Stars of the Scorpion — The Southern Cross ,. . . .45-51 

CHAPTER IV. 

INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL AGUINALDO. 

The Insurgent Leader's Surroundings and Personal Appearance — His Re- 
serves and Ways of Talking — The Fierce Animosity of the Filipinos 
Toward Spanish Priests — A Probability of Many Martyrs in the 
Isle of Luzon 52-60 

19 



20 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE V. 

THE PHILIPPINE MISSION. 

Correspondence with Aguinaldo About It — Notes by Senor Felipe Agon- 
cillo — Eelations Bet^yeen Admiral Dewe}' and Senor Aguinaldo — 
Terms of Peace Made by Spanish Governor-General with Insur- 
gents, December,. 1897 — Law Suit Between Aguinaldo and Arlacho 
— Aguinaldo's Proclamation of May 24, 1898 61-68 

CHAPTEE YI. 

THE PEOCLAMATIONS OE GENEEAL AGUINALDO. 

June 16th, 1898, Establishing Dictatorial Government— June 20th, 1898, 
Instructions for Elections — June 23d, 1898, Establishing Eevolu- 
tionary Government — June 23d, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers 
— June 27th, 1898, Instructions Concerning Details — July 23d, 
1898, Letter from Senor Aguinaldo to General Anderson — August 
1st, 1898, Eesolution of Eevolutionary Chiefs Asking Eecognition — = 
August 6th, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers Asking Eecognition. . . .69-85 

CHAPTEE VII. 

INTEEVIEW WITH AECHBISHOP OF MANILA. 

Insurgents' Deadly Hostility to Spanish Priests — The Position of, the Arch- 
bishop as He Defined It — His Expression of Gratitude to the 
American Army — His Characterization of the Insurgents — A Work 
of Philippine Art — The Sincerity of the Archbishop's Good Words. . . .86-90 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

WHY WE HOLD THE PHILIPPINES. 

The Eesponsibility of Admiral Dewey — We Owe It to Ourselves to Hold 
the Philippines — Prosperity Assured by Oui; Permanent Possession 
—The Aguinaldo Question— Character Study of the Insurgent 
Leader — How Affairs Would Adjust Themselves for Us — Congress 
Must Be Trusted to Eepresent the People and Firmly Establish 
International Pohcy 91-98 

CHAPTEE IX. 
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 
Area and Population— Climate— Mineral Wealth— Agriculture— Com- 
merce and Transportation— Eevenue and Expenses— Spanish 
Troops— Spanish Navy— Spanish Civil Administration — Insurgent 
Troops — Insurgent Civil Administration— United States Troops— 
United States Navy— United States Civil Administration— The 
Future of the Islands - - - .99-136 



CONTEXTS. 21 



CHAPTEE X. 

OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 

The Pith of the Official Eeports of the Capture of Manila, by Major-General 
Wesley Merritt, Commanding the Philippine Expedition; General 
Frank V. Greene, General Arthur Mc Arthur, and G'eneral Thomas 
Anderson, with the Articles of Capitulation, Showing How 8,000 
Americans Carried an Intrenched City with a Garrison of 13,000 
Spaniards, and Kept Out 1-1,000 Insurgents — The Difficulties of 
American Generals with Philippine Troops 137-159 



CHAPTEE XL 

THE ADMINISTEATION OF GENEEAL MEEEITT. 

The Official Gazette Issued at Manila-^Orders and Proclamation of Major- 
General Wesley Merritt, Who, as Commander of the Philippine 
Expedition, Became, Under the Circumstances of the Capture of 
Manila, the Governor of That City 160-172 



CHAPTEE XII. 

THE AMEEICAN AEMY IN MANILA. 

Why the Boys Had a Spell of Homesickness — Disadvantages of the Tropics 
— Admiral Dewey and His Happy Men — How Our Soldiers Passed 
the Time on the Ships — General Merritt's Headquarters — AVhat Is 
Public Property — The Manila Water Supply — England Our Friend 
— Major-General Otis, General Meritt's Successor 173-183 



CFIAPTEE XIII. 

THE WHITE UNIFOEMS OF CUE HEEOES IN THE TEOPICS. 

The Mother Hubbard Street Fashion in HojioIuIu, and That of Eiding 
Astride — Spoiling Summer Clothes in Manila Mud — The White 
Eaiment of High Officers — Drawing the Tine on Nightshirts — 
Ashamed of Big Toes — Dewey and Merritt uS Figures of Show — 
The Boys in White 184-187 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

A MAETYE TO THE LIBEETY OF SPEECH. 

Dr. Jose Eizal, the Most Distinguished Literary Man of the Philippines, 
Writer of History, Poetry, Political Pamphlets, and Novels, Shot on 
the Luneta of Manila — A Likeness of the Martyr — The Scene of His 
Execution, from a Photograph — His Wife Married the Day Before 
His Death — Poem Giving His Farewell Thoughts, Written in His 
Last Hours— The Works That Cost Him His Life— The Vision of 
Friar Eodriguez 188-201 



22 CONTEXTS. 



CHAPTER XV. 
EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMEEICAN WAR. 
No Mystery About the Cause of the War— The Expected and the Inevitable 
Has Happened — The Tragedy of the Maine— Vigilant Wisdom of 
President McKinley — Dewey's Prompt Triumph— The Battles at 
Manila and Santiago Compared — General Shatter Tells of the Bat- 
tle of Santiago — Report of AYainwright Board on Movements of 
Sampson's Fleet in the Destruction of Cervera's Squadron— Stars and 
Stripes Raised Over Porto Rico — American and Spanish Fleets at 
Manila Compared — Text of Peace Protocol 202-240 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

The Lessons vof War in the Joy Over Peace in the Celebrations at Chicago 
and Philadelphia — Orations by Archbishop Ireland and Judge 
Emory Speer— The President's Few Words of Thrilling Signifi- 
cance — The Parade of the Loyal League, and the Clover Club 
Banquet at Philadelphia — Address by the President — The Hero 
Hobson Makes a Speech — Fighting Bob Evans' Startling Battle 
Picture — The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet — The Proclamation 
of Thanksgiving 241-259 

CHAPTER XVIL 

EARLY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

The Abolishment of the 31st of December, 1844, in Manila— The Mys- 
tery of the Meridian 180 Degrees West — What Is East and West? — 
'Gaining and Losing Days — The Tribes of Native Filipinos — They 
Had an Alphabet and Songs of Their Own — The Massacre of Magel- 
lan — -His Fate Like That of Captaiu Cook — Stories of Long-Ago 
Wars — An Account by a Devoted Spanish Writer of the Beneficent 
Rule of Spain in the Philippines — Aguinaldo a Man Not of a Na- 
tion, But of a Tribe — Typhoons and Earthquakes — The Degen- 
eracy of the Government of the Philippines After It Was Taken 
from Mexico — "New Spain" — The Perquisites of Captain-Gen- 
erals — The Splendor of Manila a Century Ago 260-275 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES. 

Important Facts About the Lesser Islands of the Philippine Archipelago — 
Location, Size and Population — Capitals and Principal Cities — 
Rivers and Harbors — Surface and Soil — People and Products — 
Leading Industries — Their Commerce and Business Affairs — The 
Monsoons and Typhoons — The Terrors of the Tempests and How 
to Avoid Them 276-293 



CONTENTS. 2; 

CHAPTER XIX. 

SPECIFICATIONS OF GRIEVANCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 

An Official Copy of the Manifesto of the Junta Showing the Bad Faith of 
Spain in the Making and Evasion of a Treaty — The Declaration of 
the Renewal of the War of Rebellion — Complaints Against the 
Priests Defined — The Most Important Document the Filipinos Have 
Issued — Official Reports of Cases of Persecution of Men and Women 
in Manila by the Spanish Authorities — Memoranda of the Proceed- 
ings in Several Cases in the Court of Inquiry of the United States 
Officers 294-307 



CHAPTER XX. 

HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 

The Star Spangled Banner Up Again in Hawaii, and to Stay — Dimensions 
of the Islands — What the Missionaries Have Done — Religious Belief 
by Nationality — Trade Statistics — Latest Census — Sugar Plantation 
Laborers — Coinage of Silver — Schools — Coffee Growing 308-318 



CHAPTER XXL 

EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

Captain James Cook's Great Discoveries and His Martyrdom — Character 
and Traditions of the Hawaiian Islands — Charges Against the 
Famous Navigator and Effort to Array the Christian World Against 
Him — The True Story of His Life and Death — How Charges 
Against Cook Came to Be Made — Testimony of Vancouver, King 
and Dixon, and Last Words of Cook's Journal — Light Turned on 
History That Has Become Obscure — Savagery of the Natives — 
Their Written Language Took Up Their High Colored Traditions 
and Preserved Phantoms — Scenes in Aboriginal Theatricals — Prob- 
lem of Government in an Archipelago Where Race Questions Are 
Predominant^Now Americans Should Remember Captain Cook as 
an Illustrious Pioneer 319-344: 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE START FOR THE LAND OF CORN STALKS. 

Spain Clings to the Ghost of Her Colonies— The Scene of War Interest 
Shifts from Manila — The Typhoon Season — General Merritt on the 
Way to Paris — German Target Practice by Permission of Dewey — 
Poultney Bigalow with Canoe, Typewriter and Kodak — Hongkong 
as a Bigger and Brighter Gibraltar 345-349 



I 



24 CONTENTS; 

CHAPTEE XXIII. 

KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 

Glimpses of China and Japan on the Way Home from the Phihppines— 
Hongkong a Greater Gibraltar — Coaling the China — Gangs of 
Women Coaling the China — How the Japanese Make Gardens of the 
Mountains — Transition from the Tropics to the Northern Seas — 
A Breeze from Siberia — A Thousand Miles Nothing on the Pacific 
—Talk of Swimming Ashore 350-359 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

OHE PICTUEE GALLEEY. 

Annotations and Illustrations — Portraits of Heroes of the War in the Army 
and Navy, and of the Highest Public Eesponsibilities — Admirals 
and Generals, the President and Cabinet — Photographs of Scenes 
and Incidents — The Characteristics of the Fihpinos — Their Homes, 
Dresses and Peculiarities in Sun Pictures — The Picturesque People 
of Our New Possessions , 360-365 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

CUBA AND POETO EICO. 

Conditions In and Around Havana — Fortifications and Water Supply of 
the Capital City — Other Sections of the Pearl of the Antilles — 
Porto Eico, Our New Possession, Des^crlbed — Size and Population — 
Natural Eesources and Products — Climatic Conditions — Towns 
and Cities — Eailroad and Other Improvements — Future Possibilities. .366-39S 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

THE LADEONES. 

The Island of Guam a Coaling Station of the United States— Discovery, 

Size and Products of the Islands 399-400 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Frontispiece .Major-General Merritt, Governor-General of the Philippines. 

1. The Principal Gate to the Walled City. 

2. The Cathedral at Manila. 

3. Public Buildings in Manila. 

4. The Monument of Magellinos in the Walled City. 

5. Southern Islanders — Showing Cocoanut Palms and the Monkey Tree, 

6. A Eailroad Station isTorth of Manila — Spaniards Airing Themselves. 

7. United States Peace Commissioners. 

8. Senator Frye. 

9. Senator Gray. 

10. Ex-Secretary of State Day. 

11. Senator Davis. 

12. Whitelaw Reid. 

13. The Luneta — Favorite Outing Grounds of Manila^ and a Place for Executing 

• Insurgents. 

14. A Group of the Unconquerable Moharaedans. 

15. Savage Native Hunters. 

16. Girl's Costume to Show One Shoulder. 

17. Parade of Spanish Troops on One of Their Three Annual Expeditions to the 

Southern Islands. 

18. An Insurgent Outlook Near Manila. 

19. Philippine Author-Martyr, His Wife and His Execution. 

20. Dr. Eizal. 

21. Dr. RizaFs Execution. 

22. Dr. Rizal's Wife. 

23. Dining Eoom in General Merritt's Palace at Manila. 

24. A Native House. 

25. Riding Buffaloes Through Groves of Date Palms. 

26. A Native in Regimentals. 

27. A Country Pair. 

28. Peasant Costumes. 

29. Woodman in Working Garb. 

30. Oriental Hotel, Manila. 

31. San Juan del Monte, Where Revolution Started. 

32. Brigadier-General E. S. Otis. 

33. Brigadier-General Thomas M. Anderson. 

34. General Greene's Headquarters at Manila. 

35. Manila and Its Outskirts, Showing Malate. 

36. Principal Gate to the City. 

37. Attack on Manila, Showing Position of Our Ships and Troops. 

38. Fortifications of Manila. 

25 



26 ILLUSTEATIONS. 

39. Interior of the Fortifications of Manila. 

40. Fort Santiago at Manila, Where the American Flag Was Eaised. 

41. Official Map of the Hawaiian Islands. 

42. Ex-Consul General Fitzhugh Lee, Now Major-General Commanding. 

43. Official Map by the War Department of the Seat of War in the Philippines, 

44. The Destruction of Cervera's Spanish Squadron at Santiago. 

45. Display in Manila Photograph Gallery, Insurgent Leaders. 

46. A Bit of Scenery in Mindanao, Showing Tropical Vegetation. 

47. Admiral Dewey's Fleet That Won the Battle of Manila Bay. 

48. The Flagship Olympia. 

49. The Baltimore. 

50. The Concord. 

51. The Raleigh. 

52. The Boston. 

53. The Petrel. ' 

54. An Execution Entertainment on the Luneta. 

55. Victims Reported Dead After the Execution. 

56. Fort Weyler, Built by General Weyler When Governor of the Philippines. 

57. A Public Square in Manila. 

58. Scene after an Execution, Showing Prostrate Figures of the Dead. 

59. A Review of Spanish Filipino Volunteers. 

60. Spanish Troops Repelling an Insurgent Attack on a Convent. 

61. A Spanish Festival in Manila. 

62. Flowers of the Philippines. 

63. The Battle of Manila Bay— In the Heat of the Raging Fight. 

64. Group of Filipinos Who Want Independence. 

65. Loading Buffaloes with Produce in Luzon. 
6G. Natives Fishing from a Canal Boat. 

67. Scene Before an Execution. 

68. Great Bridge at Manila. 

69. Business Corner in Manila. 

70. A Suburb of Manila, Showing a Buffalo Market Cart. 

71. Aguinaldo and His Compatriots. 

72. Senor Aguinaldo. 

73. Senor Montsusgro. 

74. Senor Natividah. 

75. Senor Ninisgra. 

76. Senor Rins. 

77. Senor Belavinino. 

78. Senor Covinbing. 

79. Senor Mascordo. 

80. Senor Arbacho. 

81. Senor Pilar. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 27 

82. Senor Viola. 

83. Senor Francisco. 

84. Senor Llansoo. 

85. Filipina Preparing for a Siesta. 

86. Cathedral of Manila After Earthquake. 

87. Spanish Reinforcements Crossing Bridge Over Pasig River. 

88. A Beheaded Spaniard — Sign of the Order of Katipunan. 

89. Archbishop of Manila. His Protograph and Autograph Presented to Mr. 

Halsted, the Author. 

90. The Sultan of Jolo in Mindanao. 

91. Photograph and Autograph of Aguinaldo, as Presented by Him to Mr. Halsted, 

the Author. 

92. A Spanish Dude — An Officer at Manila. 

93. Government Building in Pampanga. 

94. Church at Cavite. 

95. Masacue — Town in Cavite. 

96. Natives Taking Refreshments. 

97. Spanish Soldiers Crossing Bridge Over Pasig River. 

98. Official Map of the Isle of Luzon, Prepared by War Department 

99. The President and His Cabinet. 

100. President McKinley. 

101. Secretary of State Hay. 

102. Secretary of the Treasury Gage. 

103. Secretary of War Alger. 

104. Secretary of the Navy Long. 

105. Attorney General Griggs. 

106. Postmaster General Smith. 

107. Secretary of the Interior Bliss. 

108. Secretary of Agriculture Wilson. 

109. Naval Heroes of Santiago. 

110. Admiral Sampson. 

111. Admiral Schley. 

112. Captain Chadwick, of the New York. 

113. Captain Cooke, of the Brooklyn. 

114. Captain Clarke, of the Oregon. 

115. Captain Evans, of the Iowa. 

116. Captain Higginson, of the Massachusetts. 

117. Captain Philip, of the Texas. 

118. Commander Wainwright, of the Gloucester. 

119. Lieutenant R. P. Hobson. 

120. Military Heroes of Santiago and Porto Rico» 

121. Major-General Miles. 

122. Major-General Shaffer. 



28 ILLUSTEATIONS. 

123. Major-General Wheeler. 

124:. Major-General Brooke. 

1.25. Brigadier-General Wood. 

126. Colonel Eoosevelt. 

127. Brigadier-General E. V. Greene. 

128. Admiral Dewey, the Hero of Manila. 

129. Captain Sigsbee, Commander of the Ill-fated Maine. 

130. Shipping in Manila Harbor. 




I ATTOCnCY dm. GciOCj5 A 



THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CABINET. 
(Photo of Long Copyrighted 1897 by Purely of Boston.) 
(Photo of McKinley Copyrighted by Elmer Chickeriug,) 
(Photo of Smith Copyrighted by Rockwood.) 




THE HERO OF MANILA. 



CHAPTER I. 
ADMIRAL DEWEY OX HIS FLAGSHIP. 

A Stormy Day on Manila Bay — Call on Admiral Dewey — The Man in AVliite — He 
Sticks to His Ship — How He Surprised Spaniards — Every Man Did His Duty 
on May-Day — How Dewey Looks and Talks — What He Said About War 
with Germany in Five Minutes — Feeds His Men on "Delicious" Fresh Meat 
from Australia — Photography Unjust to Him. 

Steaming across Manila Bay from Cavite to the city on an energetic ferry-boat, 
scanning the wrecks of the Spanish fleet still visible where the fated ships went 
down, one of them bearing on a strip of canvas the legible words "Remember the 
^Maine/ " the talk being of Dewey's great May-day, we were passing the famous 
flag-ship of the squadron that was ordered to destroy another squadron, and did it, 
incidentally gathering in hand the keys of an empire in the Indies for America, 
because the American victor was an extraordinary man, who saw the immensity of 
the opportunity and improved it to the utmost, some one said: "There is the 
Admiral now, on the quarter-deck under the awning — the man in white, sitting 
alone!" The American Consul at Manila was aboard the ferry-boat, and said to the 
<?aptain he would like to speak to the Admiral. The course was changed a point, and 
then a pause, when the Consul called, "Admiral!" And the man in white stepped to 
the rail and responded ]3leasantly to the greeting — the Consul saying: 

"Shall we not see you ashore now?" 

"]^o," said the man in white, in a clear voice; "T shall not go ashore unless I 
have to." 

Some one said: "This would be a good chance to go. Come with us." 

The man in white shook his head, and the ferryman ordered full speed, the 
passengers all looking steadily at the white figure until it became a speck, and the 
fresh arrivals were shown the objects of the greatest interest, until the wrecks of the 
Oriental fleet of the Spaniards were no longer visible, and there was only the white 
walls to see of Cavite's arsenal and the houses of the navy-yard, and the more stately 
structures of Manila loomed behind the lighthouse at the mouth of the Pasig, when 
the eyes of the curious were drawn to the mossback fort that decorates as an antiquity 
the most conspicuous angle of ihe walls of "the walled city." 

There was a shade of significance in the few words of the Admiral that he would 

29 



30 ADMIEAL DEWEY ON HIS FLAGSHIP. 

not go ashore until he must. He has from the first been persistent in staying at 
Manila. There has been nothing that could induce him to abandon in person the 
prize won May 1st. His order from the President was to destroy the Spanish fleet. 
It was given on the first day of the legal existence of the war, counting the day 
gained, in crossing the Pacific Ocean from the United States to tJie Philippines, 
when the 180th degree of longitude west from Greenwich is reached and reckoned. 
It was thus the President held back when the war was on; and the next day 
after Dewey got the order at Hongkong he was on the way. The Spaniards at 
Manila could not have been more astonished at Dewey's way of doing, if they had 
all been struck by lightning under a clear sky. They had no occasion to be "surprised/' 
having the cable in daily communication with Madrid, and, more than that, a Manila 
paper of the last day of April contained an item of real news — the biggest news item 
ever published in that town! It was from a point on the western coast of the island 
of Luzon, and the substance of it that four vessels that seemed to be men-of-war, 
had been sighted going south, and supposed to be the American fleet. 

What did the Spaniards suppose the American fleet they knew well had left 
Hongkong was going south for? If Admiral Dewey had been a commonplace man 
he would have paused and held a council of war nigh the huge rock Corregidor at the 
mouth of Manila Bay. There is a channel on either side of that island, and both 
were reputed to be guarded by torpedoes. The Spaniards had an enormous stock of 
munitions of war — modern German guns enough to have riddled the fleet of Ameri- 
can cruisers — and why did they not have torpedoes? They had the Mauser rifle, 
which has wonderful range, and ten millions of smokeless powder cartridges. Marks- 
men could sweep the decks of a ship with Mausers at the distance of a mile, and 
with the smokeless cartridges it would have been mere conjecture where the sharp- 
shooters were located. There are rows of armor-piercing steel projectiles from 
Germ-any still standing around rusting in the Spanish batteries, and they never did 
any more than they are doing. It is said — and there is every probability of the truth 
of th« story — that some of these bolts would not fit any gun the Spaniards had 
mounted. The Admiral paid no attention to the big rock and the alleged torpedoes, 
but stef^med up the bay near the city where the Spaniards were sleeping. He was 
hunting the fleet he was ordered to remove, and found it very early in the morning. 
Still the thunder of his guns seems to thrill and electrify the air over the bay, and 
shake the city; and the echoes to ring around the world, there is no question — not 
Bo much because the Americans won a naval victory without a parallel, as that Dewey 
improved the occasion, showing that he put brains into his business. They 
say — that is, some people seem to want to say it and so do — that Dewey is a 



ADMIRAL DEWEY OX HIS ELAGSHIP. 31 

strange sort of man; as was said of Wolfe and Nelson, who died when they 
won immortality. Dewey lives and is covered with glory. It has been 
held that there w^ere not enough Americans hurt in the Manila fight to 
make the victory truly great. But the same objection applies to the destruction of 
Cervera^s fleet when he ran away from Santiago. General Jackson's battle at New 
Orleans showed a marvelously small loss to Americans; but it was a good deal of a 
victory, and held good, though won after peace with England had been agreed upon. 
The capture of Manila is valid, too. Spain surrendered before the town did. If 
Dewey had been an every-day kind of man, he would have left Manila when he had 
fulfilled the letter of his orders, as he had no means of destroying the Spanish army, 
and did not want to desolate a city, even if the Spaniards held it. He remained and 
called for more ships and men, and got them. 

''How is it?" "Why is it?" "How can it be?" are the questions x^dmiral Dewey 
asks when told that the American people, without exception, rejoice to celebrate 
him — that if one of the men known to have been with him May 1st should be found 
out in any American theater he would be taken on the stage by an irresistible call and 
a muscular committee of enthusiasts, and the play could not go on without "'a few 
words" and the "Star Spangled Banner," "Hail Columbia," "Yankee Doodle," 
"Dixey" and "My Country, 'tis of Thee"; that the hallelujah note would be struck; 
that cars are chalked "for Deweyville"; that the board fences have his name written, 
or painted, or whittled on them; that there are Dewey cigars; that blacksmith- 
shops haVe the name Dewey scratched on them, also barn doors; and that if there 
are two dwelling-houses and a stable at a cross-roads it is Deweyville, or Deweyburg 
or Dewey town; that there is a flood of boy babies named Dewey, that the girls smg 
of him, and the ladies all admire him and the widows love him, and the school 
children adore him. The Admiral says: "I hear such things, and altogether they 
amaze me — the newspapers, the telegrams, the letters become almost unreal, for 
I do not comprehend what they say of my first day's work here. There was not a 
man in the fleet who did not do his duty.'^ 

The Admiral is told that he need not think to stay away until the people who 
have him on their minds and in their hearts are tired of their enthusiasm; that, 
he cannot go home undiscovered and without demonstrations that will shake the 11 

earth and rend the skies; that the boys will drag the horses from his carriage, and 
parade the streets with him as a prisoner, and have it out with him, giving him a 
good time, until it will be a hard time, and he might as well submit to manifest 
destiny! His country wanted another hero, and he was at the right place at the 
right time, and did the right thing in the right way; and the fact answers all 



32 ADMIKAL DEWEY ON HIS FLAGSHIP. 

questions accounting for everything. Still he has a notion of staying away until 
the storm is over and he can get along without being a spectacle. Why^ even the 
ladies of Washington are wild about him. If he should appear at the White House 
to call on the President, the scene would be like that when Grant first met Abraham 
Lincoln. 

One rough day on the bay I took passage in a small steam-launch to visit the 
Olympia, where the Admiral's flag floated, to call on him. There was plenty of 
steam, and it was pleasant to get out a good way behind the breakwater, for the 
waves beyond were white with anger, and the boat, when departing from partial 
shelter, had proceeded but two or three hundred yards when it made a supreme 
effort in tvfo motions — the first, to roll over; the second, to stand on its head. I 
was glad both struggles were unsuccessful, and pleased with the order: ^'Slow 
her up.'' The disadvantages of too much harbor were evident. The slow-ups 
were several, and well timed, and then came the rise and fall of the frisky launch 
beside the warship, the throwing of a rope, the pull with a hook, the stand oft' with 
an oar, the bounding boat clearing from four to ten feet at a jump; the clutch, 
the quick step, the deft avoidance of a crushed foot or sprained ankle, with a 
possible broken leg in sight, the triumphant ascent, the safe landing, the sudden 
sense that Desdemona was right in loving a man for the dangers he had passed, 
the thought that there should be harbors less fluctuating, a lively appreciation of 
the achievements of pilots in boarding Atlantic liners. The broad decks of the 
Olympia, built by the builders of the matchless Oregon, had a comforting 
solidity under ni}^ feet. The Admiral was believed to be having a nap; but he was 
wide awake, and invited the. visitor to take a big chair, which, after having accom- 
panied the launch in the dance with the whitecaps, was peculiarly luxurious. The 
Admiral didn't mind me, and had a moment's surprise about an observer oflong ago 
strolling so far from home and going forth in a high sea to make a call. I con- 
fessed to being an ancient Wanderer, but not an Ancient Mariner, arid expressed 
disapprobation of the deplorable roughness of the California Albatross, a brute of 
a bird — a feathered ruffian that ought to be shot. 

The Admiral would be picked out by close attention as the origin of some 
millions of pictures; but he is unlike as well as like them. Even the best photo- 
graphs do not do justice to his fine eyes, large, dark and luminous, or to the solid 
mass of his head with iron-brown hair tinged with gray.* He is a larger man than 
the portraits, indicate; and his figure, while that of a strong man in good health 
and form and well nourished, is not stout and, though full, is firm; and his step 
has elasticity in it. His clean-shaven cheek and chin are massive, and drawn on 



ADMIEAL DEWEY OX HIS FLAGSHIP. 33 

fine lines full of character — no fatty obscuration, no decline of power; a stern but 
Bunu}' and cloudless face — a good one for a place in history; no show of indulgence, 
no wrinkles; not the pallor of marble, rather the glint of bronze — the unabated force 
good for other chapters of history. It would be extremely interesting to report the 
talk of the Admiral; but there were two things about him that reminded me of 
James G. Blaine, something of the vivid personality of the loved and lost leader; 
something in his eye and his manner, more in the startling candor with which he 
spoke of things it would be premature to give the world, and, above all, the ab- 
sence of all alarm about being reported — the unconscious consciousness that one 
must know this was private and no caution needed. A verbatim report of the 
Admiral would, however, harm no one, signify high-toned candor and a certain 
breezy simplicity in the treatment of momentous matters. Evidently here was a 
man not posing, a hero because his character was heroic, a genuine personage — not 
artificial, proclamatory, a picker of phrases, but a doer of deeds that explain them- 
selves; a man with imagination, not fantastic but realistic, who must have had a 
vision during the night after the May-day battle of what might be the great here- 
after; beholding under the southern constellations the gigantic shadow of America, 
crowned with stars, with the archipelagoes of Asia under her feet and broad and 
mighty destinies at command. 

It was the next day that he anchored precisely w^here his famous ship was swinging 
when I sat beside him; and his words to the representative of three centuries of 
Spanish misrule had in them an uncontemplated flash from the flint and steel of 
fixed purpose and imperial force. "Fire another gun at my ships and I will destroy 
your city." 

AYe can hardly realize in America how flagrant Europeanism has been in the 
Manila Bay; how the big German guns bought by Spain looked from their 
embrasures; how a powerful German fleet persisted in asserting antagonism to 
Americanism, and tested in many ways the American Admiral's knowledge of his 
rights and his country's policy until xA.dmiral Dewey told, not the German Admiral, 
as has been reported, but his flag lieutenant, "Can it be possible that your nation 
means war with mine? If so, we can begin it in five minutes." The limit had been 
reached, and the line was drawn; and Dewey's words will go down in our records 
with those of Charles Francis Adams to Lord John Russell about the ironclads built 
in England for the Confederacy: "My Lord, I need not point out to your lordship 
that this is war." 

Perhaps the German Admiral had exceeded the instructions of his Imperial 



34 ADMIRAL DEWEY ON HIS FLAGSHIP. 

GoTernment, and the peremptory words of the American Admiral caused a better 
understanding, making for peace rather than for war. 

Next to the Americans the English have taken a pride in Admiral Dewey, and. 
they are in the Asiatic atmosphere our fast friends. They do not desire that we 
should give up the Philippines. On the contrary, they want us to keep the islands^ 
and the more we become interested in those waters and along their shores, the bet- 
ter. They know that the world has practically grown smaller and, therefore, the 
British Empire more compact; and the} find Eussia their foe. They see that with 
the Pacific Coast our base of operations looking westward, we have first the Hawaiian 
Islands for producers and a coal station, naval arsenal, dockyards for the renovation 
and repair and replenishment of our fleets; and they see that we have reserved for 
ourselves one of the Ladrones, so that we will have an independent route to the Philip- 
pines, The Japanese have cultivated much feeling against our possession of Hawaii, 
the animus being that they wanted it for themselves; and likewise they are disturbed 
by our Pacific movement, anticipating the improvement of the most western of the 
Alutian Islands, an admirable station overlooking the North Pacific; all compre- 
hending with Hawaii, the Alutian Island found most available, the Ladrone that we 
shall reserve and the Philippines, we shall have a Pacific quadrilateral; and this 
is not according to the present pleasure and the ambition for the coming days, of 
Japan. England would have approved our holding all the islands belonging to the 
Spanish, including the Canaries, and Majorca and Minorca and their neighboring 
isles in the Mediterranean, and take a pride im us. She has been of untold and 
inestimable service to us in the course of the Spanish War, and her ways have been 
good for us at Manila, while the Germans have been frankly against us, the Rus- 
sians grimly reserved, and the French disposed to be fretful because they have 
invested in Spanish bonds upon which was raised the money to carry on the miserable 
false pretense of war with the Cubans. One day while I was on the fine transport 
Peru, in the harbor of Manila, the American Admiral's ship saluted an English 
ship-of-war coming in that had saluted his flag, and also displayed American colors 
in recognition that the harbor of Manila was an American port. That was the sig- 
nificance of the flashes and thundering of the Admiral's guns and the white cloud 
that gathered about his ship that has done enough for celebrity through centuries. 

Admiral Dewey created the situation in the Philippines that the President wisely 
chose by way of the Paris Conference to receive the deliberate judgment of the 
Senate and people of the United States. Dewey has been unceasingly deeply con- 
cerned about it. His naval victory was but the beginning. He might have sailed 
away from Manila May 2d, having fulfilled his orders; but he had the high and 



ADMIKAL DEWEY ON HIS FLAGSHIP. 35 

keen American spirit in him, and clung. He needed a base of operations, a place 
upon which to rest and obtain supplies. He had not the marines to spare to garrison 
a fort save at Cavite, twelve miles from Manila; and he needed chickens, eggs, fresh 
meat and vegetables; and it was important that the Spanish Army should be occupied 
on shore. Hence, Aguinaldo, who was in Singapore, and the concentration of 
insurgents that had themselves to be restrained to make war on civilized lines. One 
of the points of the most considerable interest touching the Filipinos is that the 
smashing defeat of the fleet of Spain in Manila Bay heartened them. They have 
become strong for themselves. The superiority of the Americans over the Spaniards 
as fighting men is known throughout the islands Spain oppressed; and the bonds of 
the tyrants have been broken. It should not be out of mind that the first trans- 
ports with our troops did not reach Manila for six weeks, and that the army was not 
in shape to take the offensive until after General Merritt's arrival, late in July. All 
this time the American Admiral had to hold on with the naval arm; and it was the 
obvious game of Spain, if she meant to fight and could not cope with the Americans 
in the West Indies, to send all her available ships and overwhelm us in the East 
Indies. At the same time the German, French, Eussian and Japanese men-of-war 
represented the interest of the live nations of the earth in the Philippines. As fast 
as possible Admiral Dewey was re-enforced; but it was not until the two monitors, 
the Monterey and Monadnock, arrived, the latter after the arrival of General Merritt, 
that the Admiral felt that he was safely master of the harbor. He had no heavily 
armored ships to assail the shore batteries within their range, and might be crippled 
by the fire of the great Krupp guns. It was vital that the health of the crews of his 
ships should be maintained, and the fact that the men are and have been all sum- 
mer well and happy is not accidental. Admiral Dewey took the point of danger, 
if there was one, into his personal keeping, by anchoring the Olympia on the 
Manila side of the bay, while others were further out and near Cavite; and through- 
out the fleet there was^ constant activity and the utmost vigilance. There was 
incessant solicitude about what the desperate Spaniards might contrive in the nature 
of aggressive enterprise. It seemed incredible to Americans that nothing should 
be attempted. How would a Spanish fleet have fared for three months of war 
y.^^ us in an American harbor? There would have been a new feature of destruc- 
tiveness tried on the foe at least once a week. 

The Spaniards ashore seemed to be drowsy; but the Americans were wide awake, 
ready for anything, and could not be surprised; so that we may commend as wis- 
dom the Spanish discretion that let them alone. The ship that was the nearest 
neighbor of Admiral Dewey for months of his long vigil flew the flag of Belgium. 



36 ADMIKAL DEWEY 01^ HIS FLAGSHIP. 

She is a large, rusty-looking vessel, without a sign of contraband of war, or of a 
chance of important usefulness about her; but she performed a valuable function. I 
asked half a dozen times what her occupation was before any one gave a satisfactory 
answer. Admiral Dewey told the story in few words. She was a cold-storage ship, 
with beef and mutton from Australia, compartments fixed for about forty degrees 
hAow zero. Each day the meat for the American fleet's consumption was taken out. 
There was a lot of it on the deck of the Olympia thawing when I was a visitor; and 
the beef was "delicious." I am at pains to give Dewey's word. While the Spaniards 
ashore were eating tough, lean buffalo — the beasts of burden in the streets, the 
Americans afloat rejoiced in "delicious'' beef and mutton from Australia; It was 
explained that the use of cold-storage meat depended upon giving it time to thaw, 
for if it should be cooked in an icy state it would be black and unpalatable, losing 
wholly its flavor and greatly its nourishing quality. Australia is not many thousand 
miles from the Philippines — and one must count miles by the thousands out there. 
The Belgians have a smart Consul at Manila who is a friend of mankind. 

One of the incidents in the battle of Manila — all are fresh in the public memory — 
is that Admiral Dewey did not make use of the conning-tower — a steel, bomb proof, 
for the security of the officer in command of the ship — the Captain, of course, and the 
commander of the fleet, if he will. 

This retreat did not prove, in the battle of Yalu and the combats between the 
Chileans and Peruvians, a place of safety; but as a rule there is a considerable per- 
centage of protection in its use. Admiral Dewey preferred to remain on the bridge — 
and there were four fragments of Spanish shells that passed close to him, striking 
within a radius of fifteen feet. The Admiral, when told there had been some remark 
because he had not occupied the conning-house in the action, walked with me to the 
tower, the entrance to which is so guarded that it resembles a small cavern of steel — 
with a heavy cap or lid, under which is a circular slit, through which observations 
are supposed to be made. "Try it," the Admiral said, "and you find it is hard to get a 
satisfactory view." He added, when I had attempted to look over the surroundings: 
"We will go to the bridge;" and standing on it he annotated the situation, saying: 
'^Here you have the whole bay before you, and can see everything." I remarked: 
"The newspaper men are very proud of the correspondent of the Herald who was with 
you on the bridge;" and the Admiral said: "Yes; Stickney was right here with us." 

There were many reasons for the officer commanding the American fleet that day 
[o watch closely the developments. The Spaniards had, for their own purposes, even 
falsified the official charts of the bay. Where our vessels maneuvered and the flag- 



ADMIEAL DEWEY ON HIS FLAGSHIP. 37 

ship drew twenty-two feet of water and had nine feet under the keel, the chart 
called for fifteen feet only! 

It is not a secret that the President wanted Admiral Dewey, if it was not in his 
opinion inconsistent with his sense of duty, to go to Washington. Naturally the 
President would have a profound respect for the Admiral's opinion as to the per- 
plexing problem of the Philippines. The Admiral did not think he should leave 
his post. He could cover the points of chief interest in writing, and preferred \Try 
much to do so, and stay right where he was ^^until this thing is settled." The 
opinion of the Admiral as to what the United States should do with, or must do about, 
the political relations of the Philippines with ourselves and others, have not been 
given formal expression; but it is safe to say they are not in conflict with his feeling 
that the American fleet at Manila should be augmented with gunboats, cruisers 
and two or three battle-ships. It was, in the opinion of the illustrious Admiral, when 
the Peace Commission met in Paris, the time and place to make a demonstration 
of the sea power of the United States. 

The personal appearance of Admiral Dewey is not presented with attractive 
accuracy in the very familiar portrait of him that has been wonderfully multiplied 
and replenished. The expression of the Admiral is not truly given in the prints and 
photos. The photographer is responsible for a faulty selection. The impression 
prevails that the hero is '^a. little fellow." There is much said to the effect that he 
is jaunty and has excess of amiability in his smile. He weighs about 180 pounds, and 
is of erect bearing, standing not less than five feet ten inches and a quarter. His 
hair is not as white as the pictures say. The artist who touched up the negative 
must have thought gray hair so bei:'Oming that he anticipated the feast of coming 
years. The figure of the Admiral is strong, well carried, firm, and his bearing that 
of gravity and determination, but no pose for the sake of show, no pomp and cir- 
cumstance, just the Academy training showing in his attitude — the abiding, uncon- 
scious grace that is imparted in the schools of Annapolis and West Point — now 
rivaled by other schools in "setting up." The Admiral is of solidity and dignity, 
of good stature and proportions; has nothing of affectation in manners or insincerity 
in speech; is a hearty, stirring, serious man, whose intensity is softened by stead}' 
purposes and calm forces, and moderated b}'- the play of a sense of humor, that is 
not drollery or levit}^, but has a pleasing greeting for a clever word, and yields 
return with a flasn in it and an edge on it. 



CHAPTER 11. 

LIFE IX MANILA. 

Character of the Filipinos — Drivers Lashing Laboring Men m the Streets — What 
Americans Get in Their Native Air — The Logic of Destiny — Manila as She 
Fell into Our Hands — The Beds in the Tropics — A Spanish Hotel — Profane 
Yells for Ice — Sad Scenes in the Dining Eoom — Major-General Calls for 
"Francisco" — A Broken-Hearted Pantry AVoman. 

The same marvelous riches that distinguish Cuba are the inheritance of Luzon. 
^^he native people are more promising in the long run than if they were in larger 
percentage of the blood of Spain, for they have something of that indomitable in- 
dtistry that must finally work out an immense redemption for the eastern and 
southern Asiatics. When, I wonder, did the American people get the impression so 
extensive and obstinate that the Japanese and Chinese were idlers? We may add as 
having a place in this category the Hindoos, who toil forever, and, under British 
government, have increased by scores of millions. The southern Asiatics are, how- 
ever, less emancipated from various indurated superstitions than those of the East; 
and the Polynesians, spread over the southern seas, are a softer people than those 
of the continent. However, idleness is not the leading feature of life of the 
Filipinos, and when they are mixed, especially crossed with Chinese, they are inde- 
fatigable. On the Philippine Islands there is far less servility than on the other side 
of the sea of China, and the people are the more respectable and hopeful for the 
flavor- of manliness that compensates for a moderate but visible admixture of sav- 
agery. We of North America may be proud of it that the atmosphere of our con- 
tinent, when it was wild, was a stimulant of freedom and independence. The red 
Indians of our forests were, mth all their faults, never made for slaves. The natives 
of the West Indies, the fierce Caribs excepted, were enslaved by the Spaniards, and 
perished under the lash. Our continental tribes — the Seminoles and the Comanches, 
the Sioux and Mohawks, the Black Feet and the Miamis — from the St. Lawrence 
to Red River and the oceans, fought all comers — Spaniards, French and English — 
only the French having the talent of polite persuasion and the gift of kindness 
that won the mighty hunters, but never subjugated them. We may well en- 
courage the idea that the quality of air of the wilderness has entered the soil. 
When, in Manila, I have seen the men bearing burdens on the streets spring out 
of the way of those riding in carriages, and lashed by drivers with a viciousness that 
no dumb animal should suft'er, I have felt my blood warm to think that the 

38 



LIFE IN MANILA. 39 

men of commou hard labor in my country would resent a blow as quickly as the 
man on horseback— that even the poor black — emancipated the other day from 
the subjugation of slavery by a masterful and potential race, stands np in conscious 
manhood, and that the teachings of the day are that consistently with the progress 
of the country — as one respects himself, he must be respected — and that the air and 
the earth have the inspiration and the stimulus of freedom. The Chinese and 
Japanese are famous as servants — so constant, handy, obedient, docile, so fitted 
to minister to luxury, to wait upon those favored by fortune and spurred to execute 
the schemes for elevation and dominance, and find employment in the enterprise 
that comprehends human advancement. It must be admitted that the Filipinos 
are not admirable in menial service. Many of them are untamed, and now, that the 
Americans have given object lessons of smiting the Spaniards, the people of the 
islands that Magellinos, the Portuguese, found for Spain, must be allowed a measure 
of self-government, or they will assert a broader freedom, and do it with sanguinary 
methods. As Americans have heretofore found personal liberty consistent with 
public order — ^that Republicanism was more stable than imperialism in peaceable 
administration, and not less formidable in war, it seems to be Divinely appointed 
that our paths of Emj^ire may, with advantage to ourselves, and the world at large, 
be made more comprehensive than our fathers blazed them out. But one need not 
hesitate to go forward in this cause, for we have only gone farther than the fa 1 hers 
dreamed, because, among their labors of beneficence, was that of building wiser 
than they knew, and there is no more reason now why we should stop when we strike 
the salt water of the seas, and consent to it that where we find the white line of surf 
that borders a continent we shall say to the imperial popular Republic, thus far and 
no farther shalt thou go, and here shall thy proud march be stayed — than there 
was that George Washington, as the representative of the EngHsh-speaking people^ 
should have assumed that England and Virginia had no business beyond the Alle- 
gheny Mountains, and, above all, no right to territory on the west of the Allegheny 
and Kanawha, and north of the Ohio river, a territory then remote, inhabited by 
barbarians and wanted by the French, who claimed the whole continent, except 
the strip along the Atlantic possessed by the English colonies. Washington was a 
believer in the acquisition of the Ohio countr}^ He was a man who had faith in 
land— in ever more land. It is the same policy to go west now that it was then. 
Washington crossed the Allegheny and held the ground. Jefferson crossed the Mis- 
sissippi, and sent Louis a^d Clark to the Pacific; and crossing the great western 
ocean now is but the logic of going beyond the great western rivers, prairies and 
mountains then. We walk in the ways of the fathers when we go conquering and to 
conquer along the Eastward shores of Asia. 



40 LIFE IN MANILA. 

One of the expanding and teeming questions before the world now, and the 
authority and abihty to determine it, is in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief of 
the Army of the United States, is whether Manila shall become an American city, 
with all the broad and sweeping significance attaching thereto. Manila was not 
dressed for company when I saw her, for she had Just emerged from a siege in 
which the people had suffered much inconvenience and privation. The water 
supply was cut off, and the streets were not cleaned. The hotels were disorganized 
and the restaurants in confusion. The trees that once cast a grateful shade along the 
boulevards, that extended into the country, rudely denuded of their beughs, 
had the appearance of the skeletons of strange monsters. The insurgent army was 
still in the neighborhood in a state of uneasiness, feeling wronged, deprived, as they 
w^ere, of an opportunity to get even with the Spaniards, by picking out and slaying 
some of the more virulent offenders. There was an immense monastery, w^here 
hundreds of priests were said to be sheltered, and the insurgents desired to take them 
into their own hands and make examples of them. The Spaniards about the streets 
were becoming complacent. They had heard of peace, on the basis of Spain giving 
up everything but the Philippines, and there were expectations that the troops 
withdrawn from Cuba might be sent from Havana to Manila, and then, as soon as 
the Americans were gone, the islanders could be brought to submission by vastly 
superior forces. There were more rations issued to Spanish than to American 
soldiers, until the division of the Philippine Expedition with Major-General Otis ar- 
rived, but the Americans were exclusively responsible for the preservation of the 
peace between the implacable belligerents, and the sanitary work required could not 
at once be accomplished, but presently it was visible that something was done every 
day in the right direction. There was much gambling with dice, whose rattling could 
be heard far and near on the sidewalks, but this flagrant form of vice was summarily 
suppressed, we may say with strict truth, at the point of the bayonet. The most rep- 
resentative concentration of the ingredients of chaos was at the Hotel Oriental, that 
overlooked a small park with a dry fountain and a branch of the river flowing under 
a stone bridge, with a pretty stiff current, presently to become a crowded canal. 
It is of three lofty stories and an attic, a great deal of the space occupied with halls, 
high, wide and long. The front entrance is broad, and a tiled floor runs straight 
through the house. Two stairways, one on either side, lead to the second story, 
the first steps of stone. In the distance beyond, a court could be seen, a passable 
conservatory — but bottles on a table with a counter in front declared that this was 
a barroom, as it was. The next thing further was a place where washing was done, 
then came empty rooms that might be shops; after this a narrow and untidy street, 



LIFE IN MANILA. 41 

and then a livery stable — a sort of monopolistic cab stand, where a few ponies and 
carriages were to be found — but no one understood or did anything as long as possi- 
ble, except to say that all the rigs were engaged now and always. However, a little 
violent English language, mixed with Spanish, would arouse emotion and excite 
commotion eventuating in a pony in harness, and a gig or carriage, and a desperate 
driver, expert with a villainous whip used without occasion or remorse. 

The cool place was at the front door, on the sidewalk, seated on a hard chair, 
for there was always a breeze. The Spanish guests knew where the wind blew, and 
gathered there discussing many questions that must have deeply interested them. 
But they had something to eat, no authority or ability to affect any sort of change, 
and unfailing tobacco, the burning of which was an occupation. The ground floor 
of the hotel, except the barroom, the washroom, the hall, the conservatory and the 
hollow square, had been devoted to shop keeping, but the shop keepers were gone, 
perhaps for days and perhaps forever! Stone is not used to any great extent in 
house interiors, except within a few feet of the surface of the earth. Of course, there 
is no elevator in a Spanish hotel. That which is wanted is room for the circulation 
of air. Above the first flight of stairs the steps have a deep dark red tinge, and are 
square and long, so that each extends solidly across the liberal space allotted to 
the stairway. The blocks might be some stone of delightful color, but they are hewn 
logs, solid and smooth, of a superb mahogany or some tree of harder wood and 
deeper luxuriance of coloring. The bedrooms are immensely high, and in every 
way ample, looking on great spaces devoted to wooing the air from the park and 
the river. The windows are enormous. Not satisfied with the oiant slidino- doors 
that open on the street, revealing windows — unencumbered with sash or glass, 
there are sliding doors under the window sills, that roll back right and left and offer 
the chance to introduce a current of air directly on the lower hmbs. One of the 
lessons of the tropics is the value of the outer air, and architecture that gives it a 
chance in the house. It is a precious education. The artificial light within must 
be produced by candles, and each stupendous apartment is furnished with one tal- 
lowy and otherwise neglected candle stick, and you can get, with exertion, a 
candle four inches long. There is a wardrobe, a wash stand, with pitcher and 
basin, and a commode, fans, chairs, and round white marble table, all the pieces 
placed in solitude, so as to convey the notion of lonesomeness. The great feature 
is the bed. The bedstead is about the usual thing, save that there is no provision 
for a possible or impossible spring mattress, or anything of that nature. The bed 
space is covered with bamboo, platted. It is hard as iron, and I can testify of 
considerable strength, for I rested my two hundred pounds, and rising a few pounds, 



i2 LIFE IN MANILA. 

on this surface^ with no protection for it or myself for several nights, and there 
were no fractures. There is spread on this surface a Manila mat, which is a shade 
tougher and less tractable than our old style oilcloth. Upon this is spread a 
single sheet, that is tucked in around the edges of the mat, and there are no bed 
clothes, absolutely none. There is a mosquito bar with only a few holes in it, but it is 
suspended and cannot under any circumstances be used as a blanket There is a 
pillow, hard and round, and easy as a log for your cheek to rest upon, and it is beau- 
tifully covered with red silk. There is a small roll, say a foot long and four inches in 
diameter, softer than the pillow, to a slight extent, and covered with finer and red- 
der silk, that is meant for the neck alone. The comparatively big red log is to extend 
across the bed for the elevation it gives the head, and the little and redder log, softer 
so that you may indent it with your thumb, saves the neck from being broken on this 
relic of the Spanish inquisition. But there is a comforter — not such" a blessed car- 
essing domestic comforter as the Yankees have, light as a feather, but responsive to 
a tender touch. This Philippine comforter is another red roll that must be a quilt 
&mly rolled and swathed in more red silk; and it is to prop yourself withal when 
the contact with the sheet and the mat on the bamboo floor of the bedstead, a com- 
bination iniquitous as the naked floor — becomes wearisome. It rests the legs to 
pull on your back, and tuck under your knees. In the total absence of bed cov- 
ering, beyond a thin night shirt, the three red rolls are not to be despised. The 
object of the bed is to keep cool, and if you do find the exertion of getting onto — not 
into — the bed produces a perspiration, and the mosquito bar threatens suffocation, 
reliance may be had that if you can compose yourself on top of the sheet (which 
feels like a hard wood floor, when the rug gives way on the icy surface and you fall) 
and if you use the three rolls of hard substance, covered with red silk, discreetly and 
considerately, in finding a position, and if you permit the windows — no glass — fifteen 
feet by twelve, broadcast, as it were, to catch the breath of the river and the park; 
if you can contrive with infinite quiet, patience and pains to go to sleep for a few 
hours, you will be cool enough; and when awakened shivering there is no blanket 
near, and if you must have cover, why get under the sheet, next the Manila mat, and 
there you are! Then put your troublesome and probably aching legs over the 
bigger red roll, and take your repose! Of course, when in the tropics you cannot 
expect to bury yourself in bedclothing, or to sleep in fur bags like an arctic ex- 
plorer. The hall in front of your door is twelve feet wide and eighty lojag, lined 
with decorative chairs and sofas, and in the center of the hotel is a spacious dining 
room. The Spaniard doesn't want breakfast. He wants coffee and fruit — maybe 
a small banana — something sweet, and a crumb of bread. The necessity of the hour 



LIFE IN MANILA. 43 

is a few cigarettes. His refined system does not require food until later. At 12 
o'clock he lunches, and eats an abundance of hot stuff — fish, flesh and fowl — fiery 
stews and other condolences for the stomach. This gives strength to consider the 
wrongs of Spain and the way, when restored to Madrid, the imbeciles, who allowed 
the United States to capture the last sad fragments of the colonies, sacred to Spanish 
honor, shall be crushed by the patriots who were out of the country when it was 
ruined. It will take a long time for the Spaniards to settle among factions the ac- 
counts of vengeance. One of the deeper troubles of the Spaniards is that they take 
upon themselves the administration of the prerogatives of him who said "Vengeance 
is mine." The American end of the dining room contains several young men who 
speak pigeon Spanish, and Captains Strong and Coudert are rapidly becoming ex- 
perts, having studied the language in school, and also on the long voyage out. 
There are also a group of resident Englishmen and a pilgrim from Norway, but at 
several tables are Americans who know no Spanish and are mad at the Spaniards 
on that provocation among other things. 

There is, however, a connecting link and last resort in the person of a young 
man — a cross between a Jap and Filipino. He is slender and pale, but not tall. 
His hair is reached, so that it stands up in confusion, and he is wearied all the time 
about the deplorable "help." It is believed he knows better than is done — always a 
source of unhappiness. His name is Francisco; his reputation is widespread. He is 
the man who "speaks Engiish"-^and is the only one — and it is not doubted 
that he knows at least a hundred words of our noble tongue. He says, "What do 
you want?" "Good morning, gentlemen"; "What can I do for you?" "Do you 
want dinner?" "No, there is no ice till 6 o'clock." He puts the Americans in mind 
of better days. Behind this linguist is a little woman, whose age might be twenty 
or sixty, for her face is so unutterably sad and immovable in expression that there 
is not a line in it that tells you anything but that there is to this little woman a bit- 
terly sad, mean, beastly world. She must be grieving over mankind. It is her 
duty to see that no spoon is lost, and not an orange or banana wasted, and her mourn- 
ful eyes are fixed with the intensity of despair upon the incompetent waiters, who, 
when hard pressed by wild shouts from American officers, frantic for lack of proper 
nourishment, fall into a panic and dance and squeal at each other; and then the 
woman of fixed sorrow, her left shoulder thin and copper-colored, thrust from her 
low-necked dress, her right shoulder protected, is in the midst of the pack, with a 
gliding bound and the ferocity of a cat, the sadness of her face taking on a tinge 
of long-suffering rage. She whirls the fools here and there as they are wanted. 
Having disentangled the snarl, she returns to the door from which her eyes com 



44 LIFE m MANILA. 

mand botli the pantry and the dining-room to renew her solemn round of mournful 
vigilance. The Americans are outside her jurisdiction. She has no more idea what 
they are than Christopher Columbus, when he was discovering America, knew where 
he was going. When Francisco does not know what the language (English) hurled 
at him means he has a far-away look, and may be listening to the angels sing, for he 
is plaintive and inexpressive. He looks so sorry that Americans cannot speak their 
own language as he speaks English! But there are phrases delivered by Americans 
that he understands, such as, ^^Blankety, blank, blank — you all come here." Fran- 
cisco does not go there, but with humble step elsewhere, affecting to find a pressing 
case for his intervention, but when he can no longer avoid your eye catching him 
he smiles a sweet but most superior smile, such as becomes one who speaks English 
and is the responsible man about the house. 

There never was one who did more on a capital of one hundred words. His 
labors have been lightened slight)}^, for the Americans have picked up a few Span- 
ish words, such as, "Ha mucher, mucher — don't you know? Hielo, hielo!" Hielo 
is ice, and after the "mucher'' is duly digested the average waiter comes, by and by, 
with a lump as big as a hen's egg and is amazed by the shouts continuing "hielo, 
hielo !'^ pronounced much like another and wicked word. 

"Oh, blanketination mucher mucher hielo!" The Filipinos cannot contemplate 
lightly the consumption of slabs of ice. The last words I heard in the dining-room 
of the Hotel Oriental were from a soldier with two stars on each shoulder: 
"Francisco, oh, Francisco," and the little woman with left shoulder exposed turned 
her despairing face to the wall, her sorrow too deep for words or for weepyig. 



CHAPTEE III. 

FKOM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. 

Across the Continent — An American Governor-General Steams Through the Golden 
Qate — He Is a Minute-Man — Honolulu as a Health Eesort — The Lonesome 
Pacific — The Skies of Asia — Dreaming Under the Stars of the Scorpion — 
The Southern Cross. 

Spain^ crowded between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, was the world^s 
*^West'' for many centuries, indeed until Columbus found a further West, but he 
did not go far enough to find the East Indies. The United States is now at work in 
both the East and West Indies. 

Our Manila expeditions steamed into the sunsets, the boys pointing out to each 
other the southern cross. The first stage of a journey, to go half round the world on 
a visit to our new possession, was by the annex boat from Brooklyn, and a rush on 
the Pennsj'lvania train, that glimmers with gold and has exhausted art on wheels, 
to Washington, to get the political latitude and longitude by observation of the two 
domes, that of the Capitol, and the library, and the tremendous needle of snow that 
is the monument to Washington, and last, but not least, the superb old White House. 

The next step was across the mountains On the Baltimore and Ohio, the short 
cut between the East and the West, traversed so often by George Washington to get 
good land for the extension of our national foundations. The space between Cin- 
cinnati and Chicago is cleared on the ^^Big Four" with a bound through the shadow 
of the earth, between two rare days in June, and the next midnight, the roaring 
train flew high over the Missouri Eiver at Omaha, and by daylight far on the way to 
Ogden. The country was rich in corn and grass, and when one beholds the fat 
cattle, lamentations for the lost buffalo cease. It is a delight to see young orchards 
and farmhouses, and cribs and sheds fortified against tornadoes by groves, laid out 
with irritating precision to confront the whirling storms from west and south. 
The broad bad lands in which the tempests are raised devour the heart of the 
continent. 

I made note of the 888-mile post beyond Omaha, but the 1,000-mile telegraph 
pole and tree glided away while I was catching the lights and shadows on a fear- 
fully tumbled landscape. The alkali has poisoned enormous tracts, and the tufts of 
sagebrush have a huge and sinister monotony. Looking out early in the morning 
there was in our track a "gaunt grey wolf" with sharp ears, unabashed by the roar 

45 



46 FROM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. 

of the train. His species find occasional scraps along the track and do not fear the 
trains. Then I saw something glisten in the herbage, and it was a rattlesnake, if it 
were not a whisky bottle. 

The gigantic lumps of tawny earth, with castellated crags of stone, ghostly ruins 
one would say of cities that perished thousands of years before the bricks were made 
for Baby] on. Profound beds for vanished torrents yawned into a scrap of green valley, 
and the glitter of a thread of water. A town blossomed from a coal mine, and there 
was an array of driven w^ells with force pumps to quench the thirst of seething and 
raging locomotives. A turn in the line and a beautiful cloud formation like billows 
of white roses, massive, delicately outlined fantastic spires like marble mountains, 
carved— ah! the cloud comes out clear as if it were a wall of pearl, and there are 
the everlasting mighty hills with their brows of exquisite snow! 

These are lofty reservoirs from which the long days gjowing with sunshine send 
down streams of water at whose touch the deserts bloom. The eye is refreshed as we 
make a closer acquaintance of the mountains. Where water flows and trees "wag 
their high tops'^ there is hope of homes. There are canyons that cause one to. smile 
at remembrances of what were considered the dizzy gorges of the Alleghenies. There 
is a glow as of molten lead in one corner of a misty valley far away. It is Salt Lake, 
the Dead Sea of America. Beyond this at an immense elevation is a lake with the tinge 
of the indigo sky of the tropics. If one could stir a portion of the Caribbean Sea into 
Lake Geneva, the correct tint could be obtained. Thirty miles of snow sheds an- 
nounce progress in the journey to the Pacific. There is still heat and dust, but beside 
the road are villages; and there are even fountains. 

Each stream is a treasure, and its banks are rich with verdure. There are sleek 
cow^s on bright grass. The mountains are no longer forbidding. They take on robes 
of loveliness. The valleys broaden and on the easy slopes there are orchards 
where the oranges glisten. There are clusters of grapes. We have ^come upon that 
magic land, California. There is golden music in the name. This is a conquest. 
The war in which it was won was not one of philanthropy. We gathered an empire. 

General Merritt never minded the weather, whether the wind blew or not, and 
instead of holding his ship for several hours after the appointed time, wanted to 
know five minutes after 10 o'clock whether the time for starting was not 10 o'clock 
and by whom the boat was detained. At ten minutes after 10 the gangplank was 
swung free, with a desperate man on it who scrambled on with the help of long legs 
and a short rope As the ship swung from the dock and got a move on there were 
thousands of men and women exalted with emotion, and there were crowded steamers 
and tugs toppling with swarming enthusiasts resounding with brass bands and flut- 



FROM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. 47 

tering with streaming flags. The ladies were especially frantic. Spurts of white 
smoke jetted from forts and there were ringing salutes. Steam whistles pitched a 
tune beyond the fixed stars. The national airs with thrilling trumpet tones pierced 
the din, and a multitude of voices joined with the bands giving words and tone to the 
magnetic storm. How many miles the Newport was pursued I cannot conjecture. 
There were tall ladies standing on the high decks of tugs that were half buried in 
the foam of the bay, but as long as they could hold a "Star Spangled Banner" in one 
hand, and a few handkerchiefs in another, their skirts streaming in grace and defi- 
ance before the rising gale, they sang hosannas, and there were attitudes both of 
triumph and despair as the fair followers, dashed with spray, gave up the chase, pas- 
sionately kissing their hands god-speed and good-by. This was going to the Indies 
through the Golden Gate! 

A breakage of dishes, that sounded as though the ship were going to pieces, belied 
the prophesy that beyond the bar there was to be no moaning; and the Pacific would 
not be pacified. However, the reputation of the ocean was good enough to go to sleep 
on, but the berths squirmed in sympathy with the twisting and plunging ship. It 
was not a "sound of revelry by night," to which the wakeful listened through the 
dismal hours, and in the morning there was a high sea — grand rollers crowned with 
frothy lace, long black slopes rising and smiting like waves of liquid iron. 

The Pacific was an average North Atlantic, and it was explained by the tale that 
the peaceful part of this ocean is away down South where the earth is most rotund, 
and the trade winds blow on so serenely that they lull the navigators into dreams of 
peace that induce a state of making haste slowly and a willingness to forget and be 
forgotten, whether — 

Of those who husbanded the golden grain 
Or those who flung it to the winds like rain, 

The gulls are not our snowy birds of the Atlantic. We are lonesome out here, and 
the Albatross sweeps beside us, hooded like a cobra, an evil creature trying to hoodoo 
us, with owlish eyes set in a frame like ghastly spectacle glasses. 

General Merritt^s blue eyes shone like diamonds through the stormy experiences 
while the young staff officers curled up as the scientists did on the floor, and smiled a 
sort of sickly smile! The highest compliment that can be paid them is that the 
group of officers and gentlemen surrounding the commander of the expedition to 
the Philippines, express his own character. 

It was funny to find that the private soldiers were better served with food 
than the General and his staff. There was reform, so as to even up the matter of 
nations, but the General was not anxious and solicitous for better food. His idea 



48 FEOM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. 

of the correct supper after a hard day's service is a goodly sized sliced onion with salt, 
meat broiled on two sticks, hard tack, a tin cup of coffee, for luxuries a baked 
potato, a pipe of tobacco, a nip of whisky, a roll in a blanket and a sleep until the 
next day's duties are announced by the bugle. 

As the gentlemen of the staff got their sea legs, and flavored the narration of 
their experiences with humor, I found myself in a cloudy state and mentioned a 
small matter to the brigadier surgeon, who whipped out a thermometer and took 
my temperature, and that man of science gave me no peace night or day, and drove 
me from the ship into Paradise — that is to say I was ordered to stay at 
Honolulu. Through a window of the Queen's hospital I saw lumps of 
tawny gold that were pomegranates shaking in the breeze, another tree 
glowed with dates, and a broad, vividly green hedge was rich with scarlet colors. 
I was duly examined by physicians, who were thorough as German specialists. I 
had, in the course of a few hours, a nap, a dish of broth, a glass of milk, a glass of 
ice water and an egg nog. That broth flowed like balm to the right spot. It was 
chicken broth. When I guzzled the egg nog I would have bet ten to one on beat- 
ing that fever in a week, and the next morning about 4:30, when there was competi- 
tive crowing by a hundred roosters, I was glad of the concert, for it gave assurance of 
a supply of .chickens to keep up the broth and the eggs that disguised the whiskey. 

Two days later I gave up the egg nog because it was too good for me. I knew 
I did not deserve anything so nice, and suspected it was a beneficence associated 
with a cloud on my brow. I had the approval of the hospital physician as to egg 
nog, and he cut off a lot of dainties sent by the Honolulu ladies, who must have 
imagined that I was one of the heroes of the war. Their mission is to make 
heroes happy. I was detained under the royal palms, and other palms that were 
planted by the missionaries, four weeks, and got away on the ship Peru, with Major- 
General Otis, and when we had gone on for a fortnight, as far as from the Baltic 
to Lake Erie, we saw some rocks that once were Spanish property. 

As we left Honolulu the air was already a-glitter with Star Spangled Banners. 
There are three great points to be remembered as to the annexation of Hawaii; 

1. There is not to be a continuance of the slavery of Asiatics in the new 
possession. 

2. "Manhood suffrage" is not to be extended to Asiatics, often actually as under 
strictly conventional constitutional construction. 

3. The archieplago is to be a United States territory, but not a State of the 
United States. Ex-President Harrison says in his most interesting book: '^This 
Country of Ours," which should be one of our national school books; 



FEOM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. 49 

"Out of the habit of deahng with the pubHc domain has come the common 
thought that all territory that we acquire must, when sufficiently populous, be 
erected into States. But why may we not take account of the quality of the people 
as well as of their numbers, if future acquisitions should make it proper to do so? A 
territorial form of government is not so inadequate that it might not serve for an 
indefinite time." 

It is to be remarked of the Hawaiian Islands that they did not possess the 
original riches of timber that distinguished the West Indies, especially Cuba, where 
Columbus found four varieties of oranges. One of the features of Hawaiian forestry 
is the Eoyal Palm, but it was not indigenous to the islands. The oldest of the stately 
royalists is not of forty years' growth, and yet they add surprising grace to many 
scenes, and each year will increase their height and enhance their beauty. 

Hawaiians will be saved from extinction, by miscegenation. There ^vill be no 
harm done thpse feeble people by the shelter of the flag of the great republic. The 
old superstitions prevail among them to an extent greater than is generally under- 
stood. I had the privilege of visiting an American home, the background of which 
was a rugged mountain that looked like a gigantic picture setting forth the features 
of a volcanic world. Far up the steep is a cave in which the bones of many of the 
old savages were deposited in the days of civil war and inhuman sacrifices. The 
entrance was long ago — ^in the days the Hawaii people describe as "Before the Mis- 
sionaries." The hole going to the holy cavern was closed, but there is still pious 
watching over the place of bones, and if there are climbers of the mountain not to be 
trusted with the solemn secrets of ancient times, they are stalked by furtive watch- 
men of the consecrated bones, and no doubt the ever alert sentinels would resist 
violation of the sepulchre in the rocks; and the natives are careful to scatter 
their special knowledge that the spot is haunted by supernatural shapes and powers. 
The Americans living in the midst of these mysteries are rather proud of the ghosts 
they never see, but have to put up with the haunting guard still ministering to 
the gods that dwelt in the shrines where the shadows of extinct volcanoes fall, long 
beforr the masterful missionaries planted their first steps in the high places. 

After twenty-two days' steaming from San Francisco — Queen's Hospital time not 
counted — we were directly south of China's Yellow Sea, and within a few hours of 
sighting the isle of Luzon. 

Only at Honolulu, all the way from San Francisco, was there a sail or a smoke not 
of a vessel of the Phihppine expedition. All the long days and nights the eye swept 
the hcrizon for companionship, finding only that of our associates in adventure, and 
very little of them. Even the birds seem to shrink from the heart of the watery 



50 FEOM LONG ISLAND TO LUZOK 

world s^Dread between America and Asia; and the monsters of the deep are absent. 
One day, about a thousand miles from California, a story ;, spread of a porpoise at 
play, but the lonely creature passed astern like a bubble. Bryant sang of the water 
fowl that flew from zone to zone, guided in certain flight on the long way over which 
our steps are led aright, but the Pacific zones are too broad for even winged wan- 
derers. The fish that swarm on our coast do not seem to find home life or sporting 
places in thitr enormous sea. Only the flying fish disturb the silky scene and flutter 
with silver wings over the sparkling laces that glisten where the winds blow gently, 
and woo the billows to cast aside the terrors of other climes and match the sky of 
blue and gold in beauty; but, unlike the stars, the waves do not differ in glor}^, and 
the spread of their splendor, when they seem to roll over a conquered universe, ap- 
peals to the imagination with the solemn suggestion not that order rules but that 
old chaos settles in solemn peace. The days terminate on this abyss in marvelous 
glories. The glowing spectacle is not in the west alone, but the gorgeous conflagra- 
tion of the palaces we build in dreams spreads all around the sky. The scene one 
evening in the vicinity of the sun departing in Asia to light up the morning of the 
everlasting to-morrow touching America with magical riches, was that of Niagara 
Falls ten thousand times magnified and turned to molten gold, that burned with 
inconceivable luster, while the south and north and east were illuminated with 
strange fires and soft lights, fading and merged at last in the daffodil sky. Then the 
west became as a forest of amazing growth, and the ship entered its dusky recesses 
like a hunter for game such as the world never saw — and we looked upon the slow- 
fading purple islands that are the northern fringes of the greater one of the Philip- 
pines, and studied the rather faint and obscure Southern Cross and the stately sheen 
of the superb constellation of the Scorpion. It is a pity to have to say that the 
Cross of the South is a disappointment — has to be explained and made impressive by a 
diagram. It is more like a kite than a cross; has a superfluous star at one corner, and 
no support at all of the idea of being like a cross unless it is worked up and picked into 
the fancy. The North Star shines on the other side of the ship, and the Great 
Dipper dips its pointers after midnight, into the mass of darkness that is the sea 
when the sun and moon are gone. 

The voyage from Honolulu to the farther Paciflc was not so long that we forgot 
the American send-off we got in that Yankee city. The national airs sounded forth 
gloriously and grand. Flagc and hankerchiefs fluttered from dense masses of spec- 
tators, and our colors were radiant above the roofs. There was, as usual, a mist on the 
mountains, and over Pearl Harbor glowed the arch of the most vivid rainbow ever 
seen, and Honolulu is almost every day dipped in rainbows. This was a wonder of 



FEOM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. 51 

splendor. The water changed from a sparkling green to a darkly luminous blue. 
From the moment the lofty lines of the' coast — our mountains now — faded, till the 
birds came out of the west, the Pacific Ocean justified its name. The magnificent 
monotony of its stupendous placidity was. not broken except by a few hours of 
ruffled rollers that tell of agitations that, if gigantic, are remote. 

The two thousand and one hundred miles from California to Honolulu seemed at 
first to cover a vast space of the journey from our Pacific coast to the Philippines, but 
appeared to diminish in importance as we proceeded and were taught by the persistent 
trade winds that blew our way, , as if forever to waft us over the awful ocean whose 
perpetual beauty and placidity were to allure us to an amazing abyss, from which 
it was bnt imaginative to presume that we, in the hands of infinite forces, should ever 
be of the travelers that return. Similar fancies beset, as all the boys remember — the 
crews of the caravels that carried Columbus and his fortunes. There were the 
splendors of tropical skies to beguile us; the sea as serene as the sky to enchant us! 
What mighty magic was this that put a spell upon an American army, seeking be- 
yond the old outlines of our history and dreams, to guide us on unfamiliar paths? 
What was this awakening in the soft mornings, to the thrilling notes of the bugle? 
The clouds were not as those we knew in other climes and years. We saw no penciling 
of smoke on the edges of the crystal fields touched up with dainty ripples too exquisite 
to be waves — that which is a delight for a moment and passes but to come again, in 
forms too delicate to stay for a second, save in those pictures that in the universe fill 
the mind with memories that are like starlight. The glancing tribes of flying fish 
became events. We followed the twentieth parallel of longitude north of the equator, 
right on, straight as an arrow's flight is the long run of the ship — her vapor and the 
bubbles that break from the waters vanishing, so that we were as trackless when we 
had passed one breadth after another of the globe, as the lonesome canoes of the In- 
dians on the Great Lakes. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

INTEEVIEW WITH GENERAL AGUINALDO. 

The Insurgent Leader's Surroundings and Personal Appearance — His Reserves and 
Ways of Talking — The Fierce Animosity of the Filipinos Toward Spanish 
Priests^ — A Probability of Many Martj^rs in the Isle of Luzon. 

Practically all persons in the more civilized — and that is to say the easily accessi- 
ble — portions of the Philippine Islands, with perhaps the exception of those leading 
insurgents who would like to enjoy the opportunities the Spaniards have had for the 
gratification of greed and the indulgence of a policy of revenge, would be glad to 
see the Americans remain in Manila, and also in as large a territory as they could 
command. 

Spaniards of intelligence are aware that they have little that is desirable to an- 
ticipate in case the country is restored to them along with their Mausers and other 
firearms, great and small, according to the terms of capitulation. They get their 
guns whether we go and leave them or we stay and they go. It is obvious that 
the insurgents have become to the Spaniards a source of anxiety attended with 
terrors. The fact that they allowed themselves to be besieged in Manila by an equal 
number of Filipinos is conclusive that their reign is over, and they are not passion- 
ately in favor of their own restoration. Their era of cruel and corrupt government 
is at an end, even if we shall permit them to make the experiment. Their assumed 
anxiety to stay, is false pretense. They will be hurt if they do not go home. 

The exasperation of the Filipinos toward the church is a phenomenon, and they 
usually state it with uncandid qualifications of the inadequate definition of the 
opinions and policy made by General Aguinaldo. Representations of my representa- 
tive character as an American journalist, that gave me an importance I do not claim 
or assume to have, caused the appearance at my rooms, in Manila, of insurgents of 
high standing and comprehensive information, and of large fortunes in some cases. 
I was deeply impressed by their violent radicalism regarding the priests. At first 
they made no distinction, but said flatly the prie.s*ts were the mischiefmakers, the 
true tyrants, and next to the half-breed Filipinos crossed with Chinese — who are 
phenomenal accumulators of pecuniary resources — the money-makers, who profited 
wrongfully by the earnings of others. 

And so "the priests must go," they said, and have no choice except that of de- 

52 




GENERAL AGUINALDO, HIS PHOTOGRAPH AND AUTOGRAPH, AS PRESENTED 

TO MR. HALSTEAD. 








>^*-^ 




£^m^ 



ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA, HIS PHOTOGRAPH, AND AUTOGRAPH, AS PRESENTED 
'^*'^" TO MR. HALHTEAD. 



INTERVIEW WITH GEN. AGUINALDO. 53 

portation or execution. In few words, if they did not go away they would be killed. 
When close and urgent inquiry was made, the native priests were not included in 
the application of this rule. The Spanish priests were particularly singled out for 
vengeance, and with them such others as had been "false to the people" and treach- 
erous in their relations to political affairs. 

The number to be exiled or executed was stated at 3,000. The priests are pan- 
icky about this feeling of the natives, as is in evidence in their solicitude to get away. 
They at least have no hope of security if the Spaniards should regain the mastery of 
the islands. Two hundred and fifty of them in vain sought to get passage to Hong- 
kong in one boat. I was informed on authority that was unquestionable that the 
eviction or extermination of the Spanish priests was one of the inevitable results of 
Filipine independence — the first thing to be done. 

It was with three objects in view that I had an interview with General Aguin- 
aldo: (1) To ascertain exactly as possible his feeling and policy toward the 
United States and its assertion of military authority; (2) to inquire about his position 
touching the priests, (3) and to urge him to be at pains to be represented not only at 
Washington, but at Paris. As regards the latter point, it was clear that the people 
of the Pliilippines, whatever they might be, ought to be represented before the 
Paris conference. N"o matter what their case was, it should be personally presented, 
even if the representatives were witnesses against rather than for themselves. In the 
interest of fair, play and the general truth the Philippine population should put in 
an appearance at the seat of the government of the United States for the informa- 
tion of the President, and at the scene of the conference to testify; and I was sure 
it would appear in all cases that they were at least better capable of governing 
themselves than the Spaniards to govern them. There could be no form of gov- 
ernment quite so bad as that of the fatal colonial system of Spain, as illustrated 
in the Philippines and in the Americas. 

General Aguinaldo was neither remote nor inaccessible. His headquarters 
were in an Indian village, just across the ba}^, named Bacoor, and in less 
than an hour a swift steam launch carried Major Bell, of the bureau of informa- 
tion, a gallant and most industrious and energetic of&cer, and myself, to water so shal- 
low that we had to call canoes to land in front of a church that before the days of 
Dewey was riddled by the fire of Spanish warships because occupied by insurgents. 
The walls and roof showed many perforations. The houses of the village were of 
bamboo, and there were many stands along the hot and dusty street on which fruit 
was displayed for sale. 



54 INTERVIEW WITH GEN. AGUINALDO. 

The Generars house was about as solid a structure as earthquakes permit, its roof 
of red tile instead of the usual straw. His rooms were in the second story, reached 
by a broad stairway, at the top of which was a landing of liberal dimensions and an 
ante-room. The General was announced at home and engaged in writing a letter 
to General Merritt — then his rather regular Jiterary exercise. There were a dozen 
insurgent soldiers at the door, and as many more at the foot and head of the stairs, 
with several officers, all in military costume, the privates carrying Spanish Mausers 
and the officers wearing swords. We were admitted to an inner room, with a window 
opening on the street, and told the General would see us directly. Meanwhile 
well-dressed ladies of his family passed through the audience room from the General's 
office to the living rooms, giving a pleasant picture of domesticity. 

The door from the study opened and a very slender and short young man entered 
with a preoccupied look that quickly became curious. An attendant said in a low 
voice, "General Aguinaldo." He was unexpectedly small — could weigh but little 
over 100 pounds — dressed in pure white, and his modesty of bearing would have be- 
come a maiden. The first feeling was a sort of faint compassion that one with such 
small physical resources should have to bear the weighty responsibilities resting 
upon him. Major Bell had often met him, and introduced me. The General was 
gratified that I had called, and waited for the declaration of my business. He 
had been informed of my occupation; the fact that I had recently been in Wash- 
ington and expected soon to be there again; was from Ohio, the President's state, a 
friend of his, and had written a book on Cuba, a task which gave me, as I had 
visited the Island of Cuba during the war, an acquaintance with the Spanish system 
of governing colonies. 

The interpreter was a man shorter than the General, but not quite so slight. 
His hair was intensely black and he wore glasses. He is an accomplished linguist, 
speaks English with facility and is acknowledged by the priests to be the equal 
of any of ,them in reading and speaking Latin. It is to be remarked that while 
Aguinaldo is not a man of high education he has as associates in his labors for 
Philippine independence a considerable number of scholarly men. It is related that 
in a recent discussion between a priest and an insurgent, the latter stated as a 
ground of rebellion that the Spaniards did nothing for the education of the people, 
and was asked, "Where did you get your education?" He had been taught by the 
Jesuits. 

My first point in talking with Aguinaldo was that the people of the Philippines 
ought to be strongly represented in Paris, and of the reasons briefly presented, the 
foremost was that they sought independence, and should be heard before the com- 



INTEEVIEW WITH GEK AGUIXALDO. 55 

mission by which their fate would be declared for the present, so far as it could be, 
by a tribunal whose work was subject to revision. The general's information was that 
the Paris conference would be opened September 15, an error of a fortnight, and his 
impression was that the terms regarding the Philippines would be speedily settled, 
so that there could not be time to send to Paris, but there had been a determination 
reached to have a man in Washington. 

It is to be taken into account that this interview was before anything had been 
made known as to the mission which General Merritt undertook, and that in a few 
days he set forth to perform, and that the terms of the protocol had not been 
entirely published in Manila. I told the general it was not possible that the Phil- 
ippine problem could speedily be solved, and made known to him that the transport 
China, which holds the record of quick passage on the Pacific, was to sail for San 
Francisco in three days, and he would do well to have his men for Washington 
and Paris go on her if permission could be obtained, as there was no doubt it could, 
and I mentioned the time required to reach Washington and Paris— that one could 
be on a trans-Atlantic steamer in New York six hours after leaving Washington, 
that the Philippine commissioners going to Paris should make it a point to see the 
President on the way, and the whole matter one of urgency, but it was certainly not 
too late to act. 

The General said it had been thought a representative of the islands and of the 
cause of the people should go to Washington, but the man was in Hongkong He 
could, however, be telegraphed, so that he could catch the China at Nagasaka, Japan, 
where she would have to stop two days to take coal. The Washington commissioner 
might go to Paris, but instructions could not reach him before he left Hongkong, as 
it would not be desirable to telegraph them. Upon this I stated if it suited his con- 
venience and he would send instructions by me, I was going on the China, and would 
charge myself with the special confidential care of his dispatches and deliver them to 
the commissioner at the coaling station, when he should join the ship; and if it was 
the desire of the General to have it done I would telegraph the President that Phil- 
ippine commissioners were on the way. These suggestions were received as if they 
were agreeable, and esteemed of value. 

The conversation turned at this point to the main question of the future govern- 
ment of the Philippines, and I inquired what would be satisfactory to the General, 
and got, of course, the answer, ^Thilippine independence." But I said after the 
United States had sent a fleet and destroyed the Spanish fleet and an army in 
full possession of Manila she was a power that could not be ignored; and what would 
be thought of her assuming the prerogative of Protector? She could not escape re- 



56 INTEEVIEW WITH GEN. AGUINALDO. 

sponsibility. His views as to the exact line of demarkation or distinction between 
the rights of the United States and those of the people of the islands should be 
perfectly clear, for otherwise there would be confusion and possibly contention in 
greater matters than now caused friction. 

I endeavored to indicate the idea that there might be an adjustment on the 
hne that the people of the Philippines could manage their local matters in their own 
way, leaving to the IJnited States imperial affairs, the things international and all 
that affected them, the Eilipinos looking to the administration of localities. I had 
asked questions and stated propositions as if it were the universal consent that General 
Aguinaldo was the dictator for his people and had the executive word ta say; but 
when it came to drawing the line lines of his relations with the United States as 
the embodiment of a revolutionary movement, he became shy and referred to those 
who had to be consulted. 

^ His words were equivalent to saying his counselors must, in all matters of 
moment, be introduced. It came to the same thing at last as to his commissioner 
or commissioners to Washington or Paris, one or both, and he also asserted the pur- 
pose of having the congress elected assemble at a railroad town — Moroles, about fifty 
miles north of Manila — a movement it is understood that is under the guidance of 
others than the General, the bottom fact being that if there should be a Plrilippine 
Eepublic Aguinaldo's place, in the judgment of many who are for it, would be 
not that of chief magistrate, but the head of the army. There are others and many 
of them of the opinion that he is not a qualified soldier. The congress assembled at 
Moroles, and has made slow progress. 

It may as well be remembered, however, that the distinctions of civil and military 
power have been always hard to observe, in Central and South American states, 
whose early Spanish education has been outgrown gradually, and with halting and 
bloody steps. General Aguinaldo, then engaged in evolving a letter to General Mer- 
ritt, has since issued proclamations that yield no share to the United States in 
the native government of the islands. But there are two things definitely known, as 
if decreed in official papers, and probably more so; that the Filipinos of in- 
fluential intelligence would be satisfied with the direction of local affairs and gladly 
accept the protectorate of the United States on the terms which the people of the 
United States may desire and dictate. 

The greater matter is that whenever it is the fixed pohcy of the United States tc 
accept the full responsibihty of ruling the Philippines, neither "Aguinaldo noi 
any other man of the islands would have the ability to molest the steady, peaceable, 
beneficent development of the potentiahty of our system of justice to the people, and 



INTEKVIEW WITH GEN. AGUmALDO. 57 

the preservation by and throiigli the popular will of the union of liberty under the 
law^ and order maintained peaceably or forcibly according to needs. 

In continuation of his explanation that he had to refer matters to others called 
his counselors, disclaiming the presumption in my questions of his personal responsi- 
bility for the conduct of the native insurrection, General Aguinaldo said with the 
greatest deliberation and the softest emphasis of any of his sayings, that the insurgents 
were already suspicious of him as one who was too close a friend of the Americans, 
and yielded too much to them, and that there was danger this feeling might grow 
and make way with his abihty to do all that he would like in the way of keeping 
the peace. There were, he said, inquiries to the effect: What had the insurgents got 
for what they had done in the capture of Manila? Were they not treated by the 
Americans with indifference? 

Major Bell interposed to say that the Americans were in the Philippines not as 
politicians, but as soldiers, and had the duty of preserving order by military oc- 
cupation, and it was not possible there could be maintained a double military au- 
thority — two generals of equal powers in one city under martial law. There must 
be one master and no discussion. The United States could take no secondary atti- 
tude or position — would treat the insurgents with great consideration, but they of 
necessity were exclusively responsible for the carrying out of the provisions of the 
capitulation. 

This was exactly to the point, and the interpreter cut his rendering of it, using 
but few words, and they did not cheer up the General and those about him. Evi- 
dently they want to know when and where they realize. It had been noticeable 
that the greater importance Aguinaldo attaches to what he is saying the lower 
his voice and the more certainly he speaks in a half whisper with parted lips, show- 
in teeth' and tongue; and he has a surprising faculty of talking with the tip of his 
tongue, extended a very little beyond his hps. There was somethmg so reserved as to 
be furtive about his mouth, but his eyes were keen, straight and steady, showing deci- 
sion, but guarding what he regarded the niceties of statement. However, his mean- 
ing that there were insurgents who were finding fault with him was not so much 
indicative of a rugged issue as a confession of impending inabilities. 

He had nothing to say in response to Major Bell's explicit remark about the one- 
man and one-country military power, but the action of the insurgents in removing 
their headquarters— or their capital, as they call it— to a point forty miles from 
Manila, proves that they have come to an understanding that the soldiers of the 
United States are not in tiie Phihppines for their health entirely, or purely in the 
interest of universal benevolence. The Filipinos must know, too, tliat they could 



58 INTEEYIEW WITH GEN. AGUINALDO. 

never themselves have captured Manila. It is not inapt to say that the real center 
of the rebellion against Spain is, as it has been for years, at Hongkong. 

I reserved what seemed the most interesting question of the interview 
with the Philippine leader to the last. It was whether a condition of pacification was 
the expulsion of the Catholic priests as a class. This was presented with reference to 
the threats that had been made in my hearing that the priests must go or die, for 
they were the breeders of all trouble. Must all of them be removed in some way or 
another? If not, where would the line be drawn? The lips of the Gen- 
eral were parted and his voice quite low and gentle, the tongue to a re- 
markable degree doing the talking, as he replied, plainly picking word? 
cautiously and measuring them. The able and acute interpreter dealt them out 
rapidly, and his rendering gave token that the Filipinos have already had lessons in 
diplomacy — even in the Spanish style of polite prevarication — or, if that may be a 
shade too strong, let us say elusive reservation — the use of language that is more 
shady than silence, the framing of phrases that may be interpreted so as not to close 
but to continue discussion and leave wide fields for controversy. The General did not 
refer to his counselors, or the congress that is in the background and advertised as if 
it were a new force. 

The words of the interpreter for him were: 

"The General says the priests to whom objection is made, and with whom we 
have a mortal quarrel, are not our own priests, but the Spaniards' and those of the 
orders. We respect the Catholic church. We respect our own priests, and, if they 
are friends of our country, will protect them. Our war is not upon the Catholic 
church, but upon the friars, who have been the most cruel enemies. We cannot have 
them here. They must go away. Let them go to Spain. We are willing that they 
may go to their own country. We do not want them. There is no peace until 
they go.'' 

I said my information was that the objectionable Orders expressly proscribed 
by the insurgents were the Dominicans, Augustines, Franciscans and Eecollects, but 
that the Jesuits were not included. This was fully recited to the General, and with 
his eyes closing and his mouth whispering close to the interpreter's cheek he gave his 
answer, and it was quickly rendered: 

'^The Jesuits, too, must go. They also are our enemies. We do not want them. 
They betray. They can go to Spain. They may be wanted there, not here; but not 
here, not here." 

The question whether the friars must make choice between departure and death 
was not met directly, but with repetitions — that they might be at home in Spain, but 



INTEEVIEW WITH GEN. AGUINALDO. 59 

could not be a part of the independent Philippines; and, significantly, they should 
be willing to go when wanted, and would be. Two Catholic priests — Americans, not 
Spaniards — were at this moment waiting in the ante room, to ask permission foi 
the priests Aguinaldo has in prison to go back to Spain, and the General could not 
give an answer until he had consulted his council. Probably he would not dare 
to part with the priests, and an order from him would be disregarded. They have 
many chances of martyrdom, and some of them have already suffered mutilation. 

Something had been said about my cabling the President as to the Filipinos' 
determination to send a representative to Paris, and I had tendered my good offices 
in bearing instructions to a commissioner from Hongkong to meet the China at 
Nagasaki, the Japanese railway station, where the American transports coal for their 
long voyage across the Pacific. But that matter had been left in the air. General 
Aguinaldo had said he would be obliged if I would telegraph the President, and I 
thought if the decision was that there was to be a Philippine representative hurried to 
Paris, it was something the President would be glad to know. I was aware there 
might be a difficulty in getting permission for a special messenger to go on the China 
to Japan to meet the commissioners going from Hongkong, and I would be willing 
to make the connection, as I had offered the suggestion. But it was necessary to be 
absolutely certain of General Aguinaldo's decision before I could cable the President; 
therefore, as I was, of course, in an official sense wholly irresponsible, I could com- 
municate with him without an abrasion of military or other etiquette. It was the 
more needful, as it would be a personal proceeding, that I should be sure of the 
facts. Therefore I asked the General, whose time I had occupied more than an 
hour, whether he authorized me to telegraph the President that a commission was 
going to Paris, and desired me to render any aid in conveying information. 

The General was troubled about the word "authorized," and instead of saying 
so concluded that I must have a deep and possibly dark design and so he could not 
give me the trouble to cable. The assurance that it would not be troublesome did not 
remove the disquiet. I could not be troubled, either, as a bearer of dispatches. The 
General could not authorize a telegram without consulting. In truth, the General 
had not made up his mind to be represented in Paris, holding that it would be 
sufficient to have an envoy extraordinary in Washington. 

Others, without full consideration, in my opinion, concur in this view. I can im- 
agine several situations at Paris in which a representative Filipino would be of service 
to the United States, simply by standing for the existence of a state of facts in 
the disputed islands. I dropped the matter of being a mediator, having planted the 
Paris idea in the mind of the Philippine leader, who is of the persuasion that he is 



60 INTERVIEW WITH GEN. AGUINALDO. 

the dictator of his countrymen, for the sake of his countr}^, nntil he wishes to be 
evasive, and then he must consult others who share the burdens of authority, and told 
him when taking my leave I would like to possess a photograph with his autograph 
and the Philippine flag. In a few minutes the articles were in my hands, and passing 
out, there were the American priests in the ante-room, the next callers to enter 
the General's apartment. Their business was to urge him to permit the Catholic 
priests held as prisoners by the insurgents — more than 100, perhaps nearly 200 in 
number — to go home. 

When the news came that General Merritt had been ordered to Paris, and would 
pass through the Eed sea en route, taking the China to Hongkong to catch a penin- 
sular and oriental steamer, I telegrahed the fact to General Aguinaldo over our mili- 
tary wires and his special wire, and his commissioner, duly advised, became, with 
General Merritt's aid, at Hongkong a passenger on the China. 

He is well known to the world as Senor Eilipe Agoncello, who visited Wash- 
ington City, saw the President and proceeded to Paris. 



CHAPTEE y.- 
THE PHILIPPINE MISSION. 

Correspoudence With Agiiinalclo About It — Notes by Senor Felipe Agoncillo — Ee- 
lations Between Admiral Dewey and Senor Agiiinaldo — Terms of Peace 
Made by Spanish Governor-General with Insurgents, December, 1897 — Law 
Suit Between Aguinaldo and Artacho — Aguinaldo's Proclamation of May 
24, 1898. 

AVhen General Merritt decided to hold the China for a day to take him to Hong- 
kong on the way to Paris, I telegraphed Aguinaldo of the movements of the ship, 
and received this dispatch from the General: 

"War Department, United States Volunteer Signal Corps, sent from Bakoor 
August 29, 1898.— To Mr. Murat Halstead, Hotel Oriente, Manila: Thankful for 
your announcing China's departure. We are to send a person by her if possible, 
'whom I recommend to you. Being much obliged for the favor. 

"A. G. ESCA^IILLA," 
"Private Secretary to General Aguinaldo.'^ 

On the same day the General sent the following personal letter: 

"Dear Sir: The bearer, Dr. G. Apacible, is the person whom was announced to 
you in the telegram. 

"I am desirous of sending him to Hongkong, if possible, by the China, recom- 
mending him at the same time to your care and good will. Thanking you for the 
favor, Fm respectfully yours, EMILIO AGUINALDO Y FAMY. . 

"Mr. Murat Halstead, Manila. 

"Bakoor, 29th August, 1898.'' 

General Aguinaldo proceeded vigorously to make use of his knowledge that 
the China would go to Hongkong for General Merritt and sent his secretary and 
others to me at the Hotel Oriente, but they arrived after I had left the house. 
They came to the China and General Merritt had not arrived and did not appear 
until within a few minutes of the start. Then the deputation from the insurgent 
chieftain had an interview with him, asking that two of their number should go to 
Hongkong on the China to express fully the views of the insurgent government to 
to the commissioner, Don Felipe Agoncillo, chosen to represent the Filipinos at 
Washington and Paris and to ask that he be allowed to go to the United States on the 
China. When the committee saw General Merritt he was taking leave of Admiral 

61 



62 THE PHILIPPIXE MISSION. 

Dewey, and the General, who had not heard of this movement until that moment — 
iiie question being entirely new — invited the opinion of the Admiral, who said there 
was "certainly no objection," and on the contrary, it would be very well to permit 
the passage of the deputation to Hongkong and of the commissioner appointed from 
that city to Washington. General Merritt at once in half a dozen words gave the 
order, and the journey began. 

General Greene, who reads and translates Spanish with facility and whose Span- 
ish speech is plain, treated with marked courtesy the Filipino committee to Hong- 
kong and thence the commissioner and his secretary from Hongkong to San Fran- 
cisco, on the way to Washington and Paris. General Greene, while according dis- 
tinction to the representatives of the insurgents, stated to them that his attentions 
were personal and he could not warrant them official recognition at Washington 
or anything more than such politeness as gentlemen receive from each other. The 
commissioner was Don Felipe Agoncillo, and his secretary, Sixto Lopez 

Saturday, September 24, the Salt Lake nev»^spapers contained stories to the 
cliect that the Germans had entered into an alliance offensive and defensive with 
the Aguinaldo government and Avould furnish equipments for an army of 150,000 
men. We Avere on the Dnion Pacific Railroad at the time, and I called 
the attention of Don Felipe Agoncillo to this remarkable intelligence and 
asked him what he thought of it. He said emphatically that it was "Nothing," 
"No true," "Nothing at all," and he laughed at the comic idea. There 
was also in the Salt Lake newspapers a statement that the Aguinaldo 'government' had 
sent to President McKinley a letter strongly expressing good-will and gratitude. 
There did not seem to be much news in this for Don Felipe, but it gave him much 
pleasure, and he, not perhaps diplomatically but enthusiastically, pronounced it good. 
WHAT AGONCILLO APPROVED. 

The dispatch marked with his approbation by the Philippine commissioner Ava? 
the following from Washington, under date of September 23: 

"The President doubtless would be glad to hear any views these FilijDinos 
might care to set forth, being fresh from the islands and thoroughly acquainted 
with the wishes of the insurgents. But it would be plainly impolitic and inconsistent 
for the President, at this date and pending the conclusion of the peace confer- 
ence at Paris, to allow it to be understood, by according a formal reception to the 
delegates, that he had thereby recognized the Philippine government as an inde- 
pendent nationahty. His attitude toward the Filipinos would be similar to that 
assumed by him toward the Cubans. As the Filipinos have repeatedly, by public 
declaration, sought to convey the impression that the United States representatives 



THE PHILIPPINE MISSIO]S\ 63 

in Manila have at some time during the progress of the war recognized Agiiinaldo 
as an independent ally, and entered into formal co-operation with him, it may be 
stated that the government at Washington is unaware that any such thing has 
happened. Admiral Dewey, who was in command of all the United States forces 
during the most critical period, expressly cabled the Secretary of the Xavy that 
he had entered into no formal agreement with Aguinaldo. If General Otis followed 
his instructions, and of that there can be no doubt, he also refrained from entering 
into any entangling agreements. As for Consul-General AYildman, any under- 
taking he may" have assumed with Aguinaldo must have been upon his own per- 
sonal and individual responsibility, and would be without formal standing, inas- 
much as he has not the express authorization from the State Department abso- 
lutely requisite to negotiations in such cases. Therefore, as the case now stands, 
the peace commissioners are free to deal with the Philippine problem at Paris 
absolutely without restraint beyond that which might be supposed to rise from a 
sense of moral obligation to avoid committing the Filipinos again into the hands 
of their late rulers." 

Senor Agoncillo, the commissioner of the Philippine insurgents at Paris, made, 
in conversations on the steamer China, when crossing the Pacific Ocean from 
Nagasaka to San Francisco, this statement in vindication of Aguinaldo, and it is the 
most complete, authoritative and careful that exists of the relations between Admiral 
Dewey and the insurgent leader: 

BEIEF NOTES BY SEXOE AGONCILLO. 

"On the same day that Admiral Dewey arrived at Hongkong Senor Aguinaldo 
was in Singapore, whither he had gone from Hongkong, and Mr. Pratt, L^nited 
States Consul-General, under instructions from the said Admiral, held a confer- 
ence with him, in which it was agreed that Senor Aguinaldo and other revolutionary 
chiefs in co-operation with the American squadron should return to take up arms 
against the Spanish government of the Philippines, the sole and most laudable desire 
of the Washington government being to concede to the Philippine people absolute 
independence as soon as the victory against the Spanish arms should be obtained. 

"By virtue of this argument Senor Aguinaldo proceeded by the first steamer to 
Hongkong for the express purpose of embarking on the Olympia and going to 
Manila; but this intention of his Avas not realized, because the American squadron 
left Hongkong the day previous to his arrival, Admiral Dewey having received from 
his government an order to proceed immediately to Manila. This is what Mr. 
Wildman, United States Consul-General in Hongkong, said to Senor Aguinaldo in 
the interview which took place between them. A few days after the Spanish 



64 THE PHILIPPIXE MISSION. 

squadron had been totally destro3'ed in the Bay of Manila by the American squad- 
ron, the latter obtaining a most glorious triumph, which deserved the fullest con- 
gratulations and praise of the Philippine public, the McCullough arrived at Hongkong 
and her commander said to Senor Aguinaldo that Admiral Dewey needed him 
(le necesitaba) in Manila and that he brought an order to take him on board said 
transport, as well as other revolutionary chiefs whose number should be determined 
by Senor Aguinaldo, and, in fact, he and seventeen chiefs went to Cavite on the 
McCullough. 

''Senor Aguinaldo began his campaign against the Spaniards the very day that 
he received the 1,902 Mauser guns and 200,000 cartridgegs, which came from Hong- 
kong. The first victory which he obtained from the Spaniards was the surrender 
or capitulation of the Spanish General, Senor Pena, who was the Military Governor of 
Cavite, had his headquarters in the town of San Francisco de Malal^on, and his 
force was composed of 1,500 soldiers, including volunteers. 

''The revolutionary army in six days' operations succeeded in getting possession 
of the Spanish detachments stationed in the villages of Bakoor, Imus, Benakayan, 
Noveleta, Santa Cruz de Malabon, Eosario and Cavite Yiejo. 

"On June 9 last the whole province of Cavite was under the control of the pro- 
visional revolutionary government, including many Spanish prisoners and friars, 7,000 
guns, great quantities of ammunition and some cannon. 

"At the same time that the province of Cavite was being conquered other revolu- 
tionary chiefs were carrjdng on campaigns in the Batangas, Laguna, Tayabas, Nueva 
Eeiza, Bulcan, Batangas Pampanga and Morong, which were under control of the rev- 
olutionary army by June 12, and such progress was made by the Philippine revolution 
in the few days of campaign against the Spaniards that by August 3 last it held 
under conquest fifteen important provinces of the island of Luzon; these provinces 
are being governed by laws emanating from the provisional revolutionary government 
and in all of them perfect order and complete tranquility reign. 

"It is to be noted that the Spanish government has sent to Senor Aguinaldo 
various emissaries, who invited him to make common cause with Spain against the 
United States, promising him that the government of the Spanish nation would con- 
cede to him anything he might ask for the Philippine |)eople. But Senor Aguinaldo 
has invariably replied to those emissaries that it was too late and that he could not 
consider any proposition from the Spanish government, however beneficial it might 
be to the Philippines, because he had already pledged his word of honor in favor of 
certain representatives of the government at Washington. 



THE PHILIPPINE MISSION. 65 

"In view of this ^Dositiye resolution of Senor Aguinaldo tliere began fortliwith tlie 
intrigues of the SjJanish enemy directed against the life of Senor Aguinaldo. 
PEACE CONVENTION OF DECEMBER, 1896. 

''Senor Aguinaldo^ in liis own name and in that of the other chiefs and subor- 
dinates, obligated himself to lay down their arms, which, according to an inventory, 
were to be turned over to the Spanish government, thus terminating the revolution. 
His Excellency the Governor and Captain-General, Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, 
as the representative of His Majesty's government in the Philippines, obligated 
himself on his side (1) to grant a general amnesty to all those under charges or 
sentenced for the crime of rebellion and sedition a^d other crimes of that category: 
(2) to introduce into the Philippines all reforms necessary for correcting in an effec- 
tive and absolute manner the evils which for so many years had oppressed the countr}-, 
in political and administrative affairs; and (3) an indemnity of $800,000, payable at 
the following dates: A letter of credit of the Spanish Filipino Bank for $400,000 
against the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in Hongkong was to be delivered to Senor 
Aguinaldo on the same day that he should leave Biak-va-Bato, where he had estab- 
lished his headquarters, and should embark on the steamer furnished by the Spanish 
government (this letter of credit was in point of fact delivered); $200,000 was to be 
paid to the said Senor Aguinaldo as soon as the revolutionary general, Senor Ricarte, 
should receive his telegram ordering him to give up his arms, with an inventory 
thereof, to the commissioner designated by his excellency the Governor and Captain- 
General, Don Fernando Primo de Rivera; and the remaining $200,000 should be 
due and payable when the peace should be a fact, and it should be understood that 
peace was a fact when the Te Deum should be sung by order of his excellency the 
Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines. 

''Senor Aguinaldo complied in every respect, so far as he was concerned, with the 
peace agreement. But the Spanish government did not observe a similar conduct, 
and this has been deplored and still is deeply deplored by the Philippine people. 
The general amnesty which was promised has remained completely a dead letter. 
Many Filipinos are still to be found in Fernando Po and in various military prisons 
in Spain suffering the grievous consequences of the punishment inflicted upon them 
unjustly and the inclemencies , of the climate to which they are not accustomed. 
Some of these unfortunates, who succeeded in getting out of those prisons and that 
exile, are hving in beggary in Spain, without the government furnishing them the 
necessary means to enable them to return to the Philippines. 

"In vain has the Philippine pubhc waited for the reforms also promised. After 
the celebration of the compact of June, and the disposition of the arms of the revolu- 



6t) THE PHILIPPINE MISSION. 

tionists the Governor-General again began to inflict on the defenseless natives of the 
country arbitrary arrest and execution without judicial proceedings solely on the 
ground that they were merely suspected of being secessionists; proceedings which 
indisputably do not conform to the law and Christian sentiments. 

"In the matter of reforms the religious orders again began to obtain from the 
Spanish government their former and absolute power. Thus Spain pays so dearly 
for her fatal errors in her own destiny! 

"In exchange for the loftiness of mind with which Senor Aguinaldo has rigidly 
carried out the terms of the peace agreement, General Primo de Eivera had the 
C3'nicism to state in the congress of his nation that he had promised no reform to 
Senor Aguinaldo and his army, but that he had only given them a piece of bread 
in order that they might be able to maintain themselves abroad. This was re- 
echoed in the foreign press, and Senor Aguinaldo was accused in the Spanish press 
of having allowed himself to be bought with a handful of gold, selling out his country 
at the same time. There were published, moreover, in those Spanish periodicals car- 
icatures of Senor Aguinaldo which profoundly wounded his honor and his patriotism. 

"Senor Aguinaldo and the other revolutionists who reside in Hongkong agreed 
not to take out one cent of the $400,000 deposited in the chartered bank and the 
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, the only amount which Senor Aguinaldo received 
from the Spanish government on account of the stipulated indemnity, but to use it 
for arms in order to carry on another revolution in the Philippines, in case the Span- 
ish government should fail to carry out the peace agreement, at least in so far as it 
refers to general amnesty and reforms. All the above named revolutionists, Senor 
Aguinaldo setting the example, resolved to deny themselves every kind of comfort 
during their stay in Hongkong, living in the most modest style, for the purpose of 
preventing a reduction by one single cent of the above named sum of $400,000, 
which they set aside exclusively for the benefit of their country. 
LAW SUIT BETWEEN DON J. AETACHO AND DON E. AGUINALDO. 

"Senor Artacho, induced by the father solicitor of the Dominicans and the Con- 
sul-General of Spain, filed in the courts of that colony a summons against Don E. 
Aguinaldo, asking for a division of the above-mentioned $400,000 between those 
revolutionary chiefs who resided in Hongkong. Artacho and three others, who 
joined the revolution in its last days and rendered little service to it, were the only 
ones who desired a division of this money; whereas forty-seven revolutionaries, many 
of whom were most distinguished chiefs, were opposed to it, supporting the resolu- 
tion which Senor Aguinaldo had previously taken in regard to it. Senor Aguinaldo, 
in order to avoid all scandal, did everything possible to avoid appearing in court 



THE PHILIPPINE MISSION. 67 

answering the summons of Artacho, who, realizing that his conduct had made himself 
hated by all Filipinos, agreed in a friendly arrangement to withdraw his suit, receiv- 
ing in exchange $5,000; in this way were frustrated the intrigues of the solicitor of 
tlie Dominican order and of the Spanish Consul, who endeavored at any cost to 
destroy the $400,000 by dividing it up. 

' Artacho is now on trial before a judicial court on charges preferred by various 
revolutionists for offenses which can be proved; he has no influence in the revolu- 
tionary party." 

PEOCLAMATION OF GENEEAL AGUINALDO. 
MAY 24TH, 1898. 
Filipinos: 

The Great Nation North America, cradle of true liberty and friendly on that 
account to the liberty of our people, oppressed and subjugated by the tyranny and 
despotism of those who have governed us, has come to manifest even here a pro- 
tection W'hich is decisive, as well as disinterested, towards us considering us endowed 
with sufficient civilization to govern by ourselves this our unhappy land. To main- 
tain this so lofty idea, which we deserve from the now very powerful Nation North 
America, it is our duty to detest all those acts which belie such an idea, as pillage, 
robbery and every class of injury to persons as well as to things. With a view to 
avoiding international conflicts during the period of our campaign, I order as follows: 

Article I. The lives and property of all foreigners, including Chinese and all 
Spaniards who either directly or indirectly have joined in taking arms against us are 
to be respected. 

Article II. The lives and property of those who lay down their arms are also 
to be respected. 

Article III. Also are to be respected all sanitary establishments and ambulances, 
and likewise the persons and things which may be found either in one or the 
other, including the assistants in this service, unless they show hostility. 

Article IV. Those who disobey what is prescribed in the preceding articles will 
be tried by summary court and put to death, if such disobedience shall cause assas- 
sination, fire, robbery and violation. 

Given at Cavite, the 24th of May, 1898. 

EMILIO AGUINALDO. 

It is to be remarked of this semi-official statement that Admiral Dewey did not 
make any promises he could not fulfill to Aguinaldo; did not assume to speak for 
the President or the army of the United States, but gave guns and ammunition to 
the insurgents, who aided him in maintaining a foothold on the shore. The insur- 



68 THE PHILIPPINE MISSI0:N". 

gents did not win Dewey's victory, but aided to improve it. Without the aid of the 
American army Manila might have been destroyed, but could not have been captured 
intact. General Merritt settled the question of the status of the insurgent army wdth 
respect to the capture of Manila in a summary and sound way when he said there 
could be but one military authority in a military government, and as the command- 
ing general of the Philippine expedition of the United States, he was that authority. 



CHAPTEE VL 
THE PROCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGITINALDO. 

June 16tli, 1898, Establishing Dictatorial Government—June 20tli, 1898, Instruc- 
tions for Elections — June 23d, 1898, Establishing Revolutionary Government 
—June 23d, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers— June 27th, 1898, Instruc- 
tions Concerning Details — July 23d, 1898, Letter From Senor Aguinaldo to 
General Anderson — August 1st, 1898, Resolutions of Revolutionary Chiefs 
Asking for Recognition — August 6th, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers Ask- 
ing Recognition. 

One of the most critical questions in the situation of the Philippines is the 
precise position of the leader of the insurgents. General Aguinaldo. His utterances 
in his official character of leader of the natives who for years have been in rebellion 
against Spain, have been but fragmentary, as they have come before the people. 
We give for the public information the consecutive series of proclamations. 

No. 1. 
To the Philippine Public: 

Circumstances have providentially placed me in a position for which I can not 
fail to recognize that I am not properly qualified, but since I can not violate the laws 
of Providence nor decline the obligations which honor and patriotism impose 
upon me, I now salute you. Oh, My Beloved People! 

I have proclaimed in the face of the whole world that the aspiration of my 
whole life, the final object of all my efforts and strength is nothing else but your in- 
dependence, for I am firmly convinced that that constitutes your constant desire and 
that independence signifies for us redemption tvom. slavery and tyranny, regaining 
our liberty and. entrance into the concert of civilized nations. 

I understand on the other hand that the first duty of every government is to 
interpret faithfully popular aspirations. With this motive, although the abnormal 
circumstances of the war have compelled me to institute this Dictatorial Govern- 
ment which assumes full powers, both civil and military, my constant desire is to 
surround myself with the most distinguished persons of each Province, those who 
by their conduct, deserve the confidence of their province to the end that the true 
necessities of each being known by them, measures may be adopted to meet these 
necessities and apply the remedies in accordance with the desires of all. 

I understand moreover the urgent necessity of establishing in each town a 
solid and robust organization, the strongest bulwark of pubUc security and the sole 

69 



70 PKOCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. 

means of securing that union and discipline which are indispensable for the estab- 
lishment of the Eepublic, that is Government of the people for the people, and ward- 
ing off the international conflicts which may arise. 

Following out the foregoing considerations I decree as follows: 

Article I. The inhabitants of every town where the forces of the Spanish 
government still remain, will decide upon the most efficacious measures to combat 
and destroy them, according to the resources and means at their disposal, according 
to prisoners of war the treatment most conformable to humanitarian sentiments and 
to the customs observed by civilized nations. 

Article II. As soon as the town is freed from Spanish domination, the inhab- 
itants most distinguished for high character, social position and honorable conduct 
both in the center of the community and in the suburbs, will come together in a 
large meeting in which they will proceed to elect by a majority of votes, the chief 
of the town and a head man for each suburb, considering as suburbs not only those 
hitherto known as such, but also the center of the community. 

All those inhabitants who fulfill the conditions above named, will have the 
right to take part in this meeting and to be elected, provided always that they are 
friendly to Philippine independence and are twenty years of age. 

Article III. In this meeting shall also be elected by a majority of votes, three 
<Jelegates; one of police and internal order, another of justice and civil registry and 
another of taxes and property. 

The delegate of police and internal order will assist the Chief in the organization 
of the armed force, which for its own security each town must maintain, according 
to the measure of its resources and in the preservation of order, government and 
hygiene of its population. 

The delegate of justice and civil registry will aid the Chief in the formation 
of courts and in keeping books of registry of births, deaths and marriage contracts, 
and of the census. 

The delegate of taxes and property will aid the chief in the collection of taxes, 
the administration of public funds, the opening of books of registry of cattle and 
real property, and in all work relating to encouragement of every class of industry. 

Article TV. The Chief, as President, with the head men and the above men- 
tioned delegates, will constitute the popular assemblies who will supervise the exact 
fulfillment of the laws in force and the particular interests of each town. 

The head man of the center of the community will be the Vice President of 
the assembly, and the delegate of justice its secretary. 

The head men will be delegates of the Chief within their respective boundaries. 



PEOCLAMATIONS OF GENEEAL AGUINALDO. 71 

Article V. The Chiefs of each town after consulting the opinion of their re- 
spective assemblies, will meet and elect by majority of votes the Chief of the Prov- 
ince and three councilors for the three branches above mentioned. 

The Chief of the Province as President, the Chief of the town which is the 
capital of the Province, as Vice President, and the above named councilors will 
constitute the Provincial Council, which will supervise the carrying out of the 
instructions of this government in the territory of the Province, and for the general 
interest of the Province, and will propose to this government the measures which 
should be adopted for the general welfare. 

Article YI. The above named chiefs will also elect by majority of votes three 
representatives for each one of the Provinces of Manila and Cavite, two for each 
one of the Provinces classified as terminal in Spanish legislation, and one for each 
one of the other Provinces and Politico-Military commands of the Philippine Archi- 
pelago. 

The above named representatives will guard the general interests of the Archi- 
j)elago and the particular interests of their respective Provinces, and will constitute 
the Eevolutionary Congress, which wdll propose to this government the measures con- 
cerning the preservation of internal order, and external security of these islands, 
and will be heard by this government on all questions of grave importance. The de- 
cision of which will admit of delay or adjournment. 

Article VII. Persons elected to any office whatsoever in the form prescribed 
in the preceding article can not perform the functions of the same without the previ- 
ous confirmation by this government, which will give it in accordance with the cer- 
tificates of election. 

Eepresentatives will establish their identity by exhibiting the above named 
certificates. 

Article VIII. The Military Chiefs named by this government in each Province 
will not intervene in the government and administration of the Province, but will 
confine themselves to requesting of the Chiefs of Provinces and towns the aid v;hich 
may be necessary both in men and resources, which are not to be refused in case of 
actual necessity. 

Nevertheless, when the Province is threatened or occupied by the enemy in 
whole or in part, the military chief of highest rank therein may assume powers of 
the Chief of the Province, until the danger has disappeared. 

Article IX. The government will name for each Province a commissioner, 
specially charged with establishing therein the organization prescribed in this decree, 
in accordance with instructions which this government will communicate to him. 



72 PEOCLAMATIONS OF GENEEAL AGUINALDO. 

Those militar}' chiefs who hberate the towns from the Spanish domination are com- 
missioners by virtue of their office. 

The above named conmiissioners will preside over the first meetings held in 
each town and in each Province. 

Article X. As soon as the organization provided in the decree has been estab- 
hshed all previous appointments to any civil office, w^hatsoever/ no matter what their 
origin or source, shall be null and void, and all instructions in conflict with the 
foregoing are hereby annulled. 

Given at Cavite, the 18th of June, 1898. 

EMILIO AGUIXALDO. 
1^0. 2. 
For the execution and proper carrying out of what is prescribed in the decree 
of this government concerning the management of the Provinces and towns of the 
Philippine Archipelago, I decree as follows: 

IXSTEUCTIONS. 
Concerning the Management of the Provinces and towns. 
(Then follow 45 rules concerning the elections, formation of the police^ tlie 
court: and the levying and collection of taxes.) 
Given at Cavite, 20th of June, 1898. 

EMILIO AGUIXALDO. 
¥o. 3. 
DOX EMILIO AGUIXALDO Y FAMY, 
President of tlie Eevolutionary Government of the Philippines, and General in Chief 

of Its Army. 
This government desiring to demonstrate to the Philippine people that one of 
its ends is to combat with a firm hand the inveterate vices of the Spanish administra- 
tion, substituting for personal luxury and that pompous ostentation which have 
made it a mere matter of routine, cumbrous and slow in its movements, another 
administration more modest, simple and prompt in performing the public service: I 
decree as follows: 

CHAPTEE I. 

OF THE EEYOLUTIOXAEY GOYEEXMEXT. 

Article I. The dictatorial government will be entitled hereafter the revolu- 
tionary government, whose object is to struggle for the independence of the Phil- 



PROCLAMATIOXS OF GENERAL AGUIXALDO. 73 

ippines until all nations, including the Spanish, shall expressly recognize it, and 
to prepare the country so that a true republic may be established. 

The dictator will be entitled hereafter President of the Eevolutionary Govern- 
ment. 

Article II. Four secretaryships of government are created; one of foreign af- 
fairs, navy and commerce; another of war and public works; another of pohce and 
internal order, justice, education and hygiene; and another of finance, agriculture, 
and manufacturing industry. 

The government may increase this number of secretaryships, when it shall find 
in practice that this distribution is not sufficient for the multiplied and complicated 
necessities of the public service. 

Article III. Each secretaryship shall aid the President in the administration of 
questions concerning the different branches which it comprises. 

At the head of each one shall be a secretary who shall not be responsible for 
the decrees of the Presidency, but shall sign them with the President, to give them 
authority. 

But if it shall appear that the decree has been promulgated on the proposition 
of the secretary of the department, the latter shall be responsible conjointly with the 
President. 

Article lY. The secretaryship of foreign affairs will be divided into three 
bureaus, one of diplomacy, another of navy and another of commerce. 

The first bureau vrill study and dispose of all questions pertaining to the man- 
agement of diplomatic negotiations with other powers and the correspondence of 
this government with them. The second will study all questions relating to the 
formation and organization of our navy and the fitting out of such expeditions as the 
necessities of the revolution may require; and the third will have charge of every- 
thing relating to internal and external commerce, and the preliminary work which 
may be necessary for making treaties of commerce with other nations. 

Article Y. The secretaryship of war will be divided into two bureaus; one of 
war, properly speaking, and the other of public works. 

The first bureau will be subdivided into four sections: One of campaigns, an- 
other of military justice, another of mihtary administration, and another of mili- 
tary health. 

The section of campaigns will have charge of the appointment and formation 
of the certificates of enhstment and service of all who serve in the revolutionary 
mihtia; of the direction of campaigns; the preparation of plans, works of fortifi- 
cation, and preparing reports of battles; of the study of mihtary tactitjs for the 



74 PEOCLAMATIOXS OF GEXEEAL AGUIXALDO. 

arm}^ and the organization of the general staff, artillery and cavalr}^; and finally, 
of the determination of all other questions concerning the business of campaigns and 
military operations. 

The section of military justice will have charge of everything relating to courts 
of war and military tribunals; the appointment of judges and counsel and the de- 
termination of all questions of military justice; the section of military administration 
will be charged with the furnishing of food and other supplies necessar}' for the use of 
the army; and the section of military health will have charge of everything relating to 
the hygiene and healthfulness of the militia. 

Article YI. The other secretaryships will be divided into such bureaus as 
their branches may rec[uire and each bureau will be subdivided into sections accord- 
ing to the nature and importance of the work it has to do. 

Article YII. The secretary will inspect and supervise all the work of his sec- 
retaryship and will determine all questions with the President of the government. 

At the head of each bureau vdll be a director and in each section an ofhcer pro- 
vided with such number of assistants as may be specified. 

Article YIII. The President vnil appoint the secretaries of his own free choice 
and in concert with them will appoint all the subordinate officials of each secretary- 
ship. 

In order that in the choice of persons it may be possible to avoid favoritism, it 
must be fully understood that the good name of the country and the triumph of 

the revolution require the services of persons truly capable. 

Article IX. The secretaries may be present at the revolutionary congress in 
order that they may make any motion in the name of the President or may be in- 
terpolated publicly by any one of the representatives; but when the question which 
is the object of the motion shall be put to vote or after the interpolation is ended 
they shall leave and shall not take part in the vote. 

Article X. The President of the government ' is the personification of the 
Philippine people, and in accordance with this idea it shall not be possible to hold 
him responsible while he fills the office. 

His term of office shall last until the revokition triumphs, unless, under ex- 
traordinary circumstances, he shall feel obliged to offer his resignation to congress, 
in which c&ce congress will elect whomsoever it considers most fit 



PEOCLAMATIONS OF GEXI^LAL AQUIXALDO. 75 

CHAPTER 11. 
OF THE EEVOLUTIONARY CONGRESS. 

Article XL The Revolutionary Congress is the body of representatives of the 
Provinces of the Philippine Archipelago elected in the manner prescribed in the 
decrees of the 18th, present month. 

Xevertheless, if any Province shall not be able as yet to elect representatives be- 
cause the greater part of its towns shall have not yet succeeded in liberating them- 
selves from Spanish domination, the government shall have power to appoint as pro- 
visional representatives for this Province those persons who are most distinguished for 
high character and social position, in such numbers as are prescribed by the above 
named decree, provided always that they are natives of the Province which they 
represent or have resided therein for a long tim.e. 

Article XII. The representatives having met in the town which is the seat 
of the revolutionary government, and in the building which may be designated, 
will proceed to its preliminary labors, designating by plurality of votes a commission 
composed of five individuals charged with examining documents accrediting each 
representative, and another commission, composed of three individuals, who will 
examine the documents which the five of the former commission exhibit. 

Article XIII. On the following day the above named representatives will meet 
again and the two commissions will read their respective reports concerning the 
legality of the said documents, deciding by an absolute majority of votes on the 
character of those which appear doubtful. 

This business completed, it will proceed to designate, also by absolute majority, 
a President, a Vice President, and two secretaries, who shall be chosen from among 
the representatives, whereupon the congress shall be considered organized, and shall 
notify the government of the result of the election. 

Article XIV. The place where cono-ress deliberates is sacred and inviolable, and 
no armed force shall enter therein unless the President thereof shall ask therefor in 
order to establish internal order disturbed by those who can neither honor them- 
selves nor its august functions. 

Article XV. The powers of congress are: To watch over the general interest 
of the Philippine people, and the carrying out of the revolutionary laws; to discuss 
and vote upon said laws; to discuss and approve prior to their ratification treaties and 
loans; to examine and approve the accounts presented annually by the secretary 
of finance, as well as extraordinary and other taxes which may hereafter be im- 
posed. 



16 PEOCLAMATIONS OF GEXEEAL AGUINALDO. 

Article XVI. Congress shall also be consulted in all grave and important ques- 
tions, the determination of which admits of delay or adjournment; but the President 
of the government shall have power to decide questions of urgent character, but in 
that case he shall give account by message to said body of the decision which he 
has adopted. 

Article XVII. Every representative shall have power to present to congress 
any project of a law, and every secretary on the order of the President of the gov- 
ernment shall have similar power. 

Article XVIII. The sessions of congress shall be public, and only in cases 
which require reserve shall it have power to hold a secret session. 

Article XIX. In the order of its deliberations, as well as in the internal gov- 
ernment of the body the instructions which shall be formulated by the congress 
itself shall be observed. The President shall direct the deliberations and shall not 
vote except in case of a tie, when he shall have the casting vote. 

Article XX. The President of the government shall not have power to in- 
terrupt in any manner the meeting of congress, nor embarrass its sessions. 

Article XXI. The congress shall designate a permanent commission of justice 
which shall be presided over by the auxilliary vice president or each of the secre- 
taries, and shall be composed of those persons and seven m.embers elected by plurality 
of votes from among the representatives. 

This commission shall judge on appeal the criminal cases tried by the Provin- 
cial courts; and shall take cognizance of and have original jurisdiction in all cases 
against the secretaries of the government, the chiefs of Provinces and towns, and the 
Provincial judges. 

Article XXII. In the office of the secretary of congress shall be kept a book 
of honor, wherein shall be recorded special services rendered to the country, and 
considered as such by said body. Every Philippino, whether in the military or civil 
service, may petition congress for notation in said book, presenting duly accredited 
documents describing the service rendered by him on behalf of the country, since 
the beginning of the present revolution. For extraordinary services, which may be 
rendered hereafter, the government will propose said notation accompanying the 
proposal with the necessary documents justifying it. 

Article XXIII. The congress will also grant, on the proposal of the government 
rewards in money, which can be given only once to the families of those who were 
victims of their duty and patriotism, as a result of extraordinary acts of heroism. 

Article XXIV. The acts of congress shall not take effect until the Presi- 
dent of the government orders their fulfillment and execution. Whenever the said 



PEOCLAMATIONS OF GENEKAL AGUINALDO. 77 

President shall be of the opinion that any act is unsuitable or against public policy, 
or pernicious, he shall explain to congress the reasons against its execution, and 
if tlie latter shall insist on its passage the President shall have power to oppose 
his veto under his most rigid responsibility. 

CHAPTER III. 
OF MILITARY COURTS AND JUSTICE. 

Article XXV. When the chiefs of military detachments have notice that any 
soldier has committed or has perpetrated any act of those commonly con- 
sidered as mihtary crimes, he shall bring it to the knowledge of the commandant of 
the Zone, who shall appoint a judge and a secretary, who shall begin suit in the form 
prescribed in the instructions dated the 20th of the present month. If the accused 
shall be of the grade of lieutenant or higher, the said commandant shall himself be 
the judge, and if the latter shall be the accused, the senior commandant of the 
Province shall name as juda'e an officer who holds a higher grade, unless the zc.me 
senior commandant shall himself have brought the suit. The judge shall alwaj^s be- 
long to the class of chiefs. 

Article XXVI. On the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the senior com- 
mandant shall designate three officers of equal or higher rank to the judge and the 
military court shall consist of the said officers, the judge, the councilor and the 
President. The latter shall be the commandant of the Zone, if the accused be of the 
grade of sergeant or less, and the senior commandant if he be of the grade of lieu- 
tenant or higher. This court shall conduct the trial in the form customary in the 
Provincial courts, but the judgment shall be appealable to the higher courts of war. 

Article XXYII. The superior court shall be composed of six members, who 
shall hold rank not less than brigadier generals, and the judge advocate. If the num- 
ber of generals present in the capitol of the revolutionary government shall not be 
sufficient the deficiency shall be supplied by representatives designated and commis- 
sioned by congress. The president of the court shall be the general having the high- 
est rank of all, and should there be more than one having equal rank, the president 
shall be elected from among them by absolute majority of votes. 

Article XXVIII. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in all cases affect- 
ing the higher commandants, the commandants of Zones and all officers of the rank 
of major or higher. 

Article XXIX. Commit Military Crimes: 1st. Those who fail to grant the 



78 PROCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. 

necessary protection to foreigners^ both in their persons and property, and those 
who similarly fail to afford protection to hospitals and ambulances, including persons 
and effects which may be found in possession of one or the other, and those engaged 
in the service of the same, provided always they commit no hostile act. 2d. Those who 
fail in the respect due to the lives, money and jewels of enemies who lay down their 
arms^ and of prisoners of war. 3d. Filipinos who place themselves in the service of 
the enemy acting as spies or disclosing to them secrets of war and the plans of 
revolutionary positions and fortifications, and those who present themselves under 
a flag of truce without justifying properly their office and their personality; and 4.th, 
those who fail to recognize a flag of truce duly accredited in the forms prescribed 
by international law. 

Will Commit also Military Crimes: 1st. Those who conspire against the unity of 
the revolutionists, provoking rivalry between chiefs and forming divisions and armed 
bands. 2d. Those who solicit contributions without authority of the government 
aud misappropriate the public funds. 3d. Those who desert to the enemy, or are 
guilty of cowardice in the presence of the enemy, being armed; and, 4th, those who 
seize the property of any person who has done no wrong to the revolution, violate 
women and assassinate or inflict serious wounds on unarmed persons and commit 
robberies or arson. 

Article XXX. Those who commit the crimes enumerated will be considered 
as declared enemies of the revolution, and will incur the penalties prescribed in 
the Spanish penal code, and in the highest grade. * 

If the crime shall not be found in the said code, the offender shall be imprisoned 
imtil the revolution triumphs unless the result of this shall be an irreparable dam- 
age, which in the judgment of the tribunal shall be a sufficient cause for imposing 
the penalty of death. 

ADDITIONAL CLAUSES. 

The government will establish abroad a revolutionary committee, composed of a 
number not yet determined of persons most competent in the Philippine Archipelago. 
This committee will be divided into three delegations; one of diplomacy, another of 
the navy and another of the army. 

The delegation of diplomacy will manage and conduct negotiations with foreign 
cabinets with a view to the recognition of the belligerency and independence of the 
Philippines. 

The delegation of the navy will be charged with studying and organizing the 
Philippine navy and preparing the expenditures which the necessities of the revolu- 
tion may require. 



PROCLAMATIOXS OF GENERAL AGUIXALDO. 79 

The delegation of the army will study military tactics and the best form of or- 
ganization for the general staffs artillery and engineers and whatever else may be 
necessary in order to fit out the Philippine Army under the conditions required by 
modern progress. 

xlrticle XXXII, The government will issue the necessary instructions for the 
proper execution of the present decree. 

Article XXXIII. All decrees of the dictatorial government in conflict with 

the foregoing are hereby annulled. 

Given at Cavite, the 23d of June, 1898. 

EMILIO AGUIXALDO. 

IXSTEUCTIOXS. 

Desiring to bring about a proper execution of the decree dated the 23d of the 
present month, and to provide that the administrative measures shall not 
result hereafter in the paralysis of public business, but that, on the con- 
trary, it shall constitute the best guarantee of the regularity, promptitude and fit- 
ness in the transaction of pubhe business, I give the following instructions and 
decree: 

(Then follow ten rules concerning the details of installing the government.) 

Cavite, the 2rth of June, 1898.- 

EMILIO AGUIXALDO. 

MESSAGE OF THE PEESIDEXT OF THE PHILIPPIXE REYOLLTIOX. 

If it is true, as it is true, that political revolutions properly understood, are the vio- 
lent means which people employ to recover the sovereignty which naturally belongs to 
them, usurped and trampled upon by a t^Tannical and arbitrary government, no 
revolution can be more righteous than that of the Philippines, because the people 
have had recourse to it after having exhausted all the pacific means which reason and 
experience could suggest. 

The ancient Kings of Castile felt obliged to consider the Philippines as a 
brother people, united to the Spanish in a perfect participation of aims and interests, 
so niuch so that when the Constitution of 1812 was promulgated, at Cadiz, on ac- 
count of the War of Spanish Independence, these islands were represented in the 
Spanish Cortez; but the interests of the Monastic corporations which have always 
found unconditional support in the Spanish Government, overcame this sacred duty 
and the Philippines remained excluded from the Spanish Constitution, and the 
people at the mercy of the discretionary or arbitrary powers of the Governor-Generah 

In this condition the people claimed justice, begged of the metropolis the recog- 
nition and restitution of their secular rio-hts bv means of reforms which siiould 



^ PROCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. 

assimilate in a gradual and jDrogressive manner, the Philippines to the Spaniards; .but 
their voice was quickly throttled and their sons received as the reward of their self- 
denial, deportation, martyrdom and death. The religious corporations with whose 
interests, always opposed to those of the Philippine people, the Spanish Govern- 
ment has been identified, scoffed at these pretensions and answered with the knowl- 
edge of that Government that Spanish liberties have cost blood. 

What other recourse then remained to the people for insisting as in duty bound 
on regaining its former rights? No alternative remained except force and, con- 
vinced of that, it has had recourse to revolution. 

And noAv it is not limited to asking assimilation to the Spanish Political Consti- 
tution, but it asks a definite separation from it; it struggles for its independence in 
the firm belief that the time has arrived in which it can and ought to govern itself. 

There has been established a Revolutionary Government, under wise and just laws, 
suited to the abnormal circumstances through which it is passing, and which, in 
proper time, will prepare it for a true Republic. Thus taking as a sole model for 
its acts, reason, for its sole end, justice, and, for its sole means, honorable labor, it 
calls all Philippines its sons without distinction of class, and invites them to unite 
firmly with the object of forming a noble society, not based upon blood nor pom- 
pous titles, but upon the work and personal merit of each one; a free society, where 
exist neither egotism nor personal politics which annihilate and crush, neither envy 
nor favoritism which debase, neither fanfaronade nor charlatanism which are 
ridiculous. 

And it could not be otherwise. A people which has given proofs of suffering and 
valor in tribulation and in danger, and of hard work and study in peace, is not des- 
tined to slavery; this people is called to be great, to be one of the strongest arms of 
Providence in ruling the destinies of mankind; this people has resources and energy 
sufficient to liberate itself from the ruin and extinction into which the Spanish 
Government has plunged it, and to claim a modest but worthy place in the concert 
of free nations. 

Given at Cavite the 23d of June, 1898. 

EMILIO AGUINALDO. 

TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

The Revolutionary Government of the Philippines, on its establishment, ex- 
plained, through the message dated the 23d of June last, the true causes of the Phil- 
ippine Revolution, showing, according to the evidence, that this popular movement 



PEOCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. 81 

is the result of the laws which regulate the life of a people which aspires to progress 
and to perfection by the sole road of liberty. 

The said Eevoliition now rules in the Provinces of Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro, 
Tayabas, Lagiina^ Morong, Bulacan^ Bataan, Pampanga, Neuva-Ecija, Tarlac, Pan- 
gasinan, Union^ Infanta^ and Zambales, and it holds besieged the capital of Manila. 

In these Provinces complete order and perfect tranquility reign, administered by 
the authorities elected by the Provinces in accordance with the organic decrees 
dated the 18th and 23d of June last. 

The Revolution holds, moreover, about 9,000 prisoners of war, w^ho are treated in 
accordance with the customs of war between civilized nations and humane senti- 
ments, and at the end of the war it has more than 30,000 combatants organized in 
the form of a regular army. 

In this situation the chiefs of the towns comprised in the above mentioned Prov- 
inces, interpreting the sentiments which animate those who have elected them, 
have proclaimed the Independence of the Philippines, petitioning the Revolutionary 
Government that will entreat and obtain from foreign Governments recognition 
of its belligerency and its independence, in the firm belief that the Philippine people 
have already arrived at that state in which they can and ought to govern themselves. 

This is set forth in the accompanying documents, subscribed by the above 
named chiefs. 

Wherefore, the undersigned, by virtue of the powers which belong to him as 
President of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines and in the name and 
representation of the Philippine people, asks the support of all the powers of the 
civilized world, and earnestly entreats them to proceed to the formal recognition 
of the belligerency of the Revolution and the Independence of the Philippines: 
since they are the means designated by Providence to maintain the equilibrium 
between peoples, sustaining the weak and restraining the strong, to the end that by 
these means shall shine forth and be realized the most complete justice in the 
indefinite progress of humanity. 

Given at Bacoor, in the Province of Cavite, the 6th day of August, 1898. 
The President of the Revolutionary Government, 

EMILIO AGUINALDO. 

STATEMENT. 

The undersigned chiefs of towns comprising tiie Provinces hereinafter named, 
elected as such in the manner prescribed by the decree of the ISth and the instnic- 



82 PROCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. 

tions dated the 20tli of June last, after having been confirmed in their respective 
offices by the President of the Government and having taken the prescribed oath 
before him, have met in full assembly previously called for that purpose for the 
purpose of discussing the solemn proclamation of Philippine independence. 

The discussion took place with the prudence and at the length which so impor- 
tant a question demands and, after suitable deliberation, the following declarations 
were unanimously adopted : 

The Philippine Revolution records on the one hand brilliant feats of arms, 
realized with singular couragfe by an improvised army almost without arms, and on 
the other the no less notable fact that the people, after the combat, have not entered 
upon great excesses nor pursued the enemy further; but have treated him, on the 
contrar}^, with generosity and humanity, returning at once to their ordinary and 
tranquil life. 

Such deeds demonstrate, in an indisputable manner, that the Philippine people 
was not created, as all believed, for the sole purpose of dragging the chains of servi- 
tude, but that it has a perfect idea of order and justice, shuns a savage life, and loves a 
civilized life. 

But what is most surprising in this people is that it goes on giving proofs that it 
knows how to frame laws, commensurate with the progress of the age, to respect 
them and obey them, demonstrating that its national customs are not repugnant to 
this progress; that it is not ambitious for power nor honors nor riches aside from the 
rational and just aspirations for a free and independent life, and inspired by the 
most lofty idea of patriotism and national honor; and that in the service of this 
idea and for the realization of that aspiration it has not hesitated in the sacrifice of 
life and fortune. 

These admirable — and more than admirable, these wonderful — deeds necessarily 
engender the most firm and ineradicable convictions of the necessity of leaving the 
Philippines free and independent, not only because they deserve it, but because they 
are prej)ared to defend, to the death, their future and their history. 

Filipinos are fully convinced that if individuals have need of material, moral 
and intellectual perfection in order to contribute to the welfare of their fellovvT>, 
peoples require to have fullness of life; they need liberty and independence in order 
to contribute to the indefinite progress of mankind. It has struggled and will 
struggle, with decision and constancy, without ever turning back or retrograding 
before the obstacles which may arise in its path, and with unshakable faith that it 
will obtain justice and fulfill the laws of Providence. 

And neither will it be turned aside from the course it has hitherto followed by 



PEOCLAMATIONS OF GENERAI. AGUINALDO. 83 

the unjustifiable imprisonment, tortures, assassinations, and the other vandal acts 
committed by the Spaniards against the persons of peaceful and defenseless Fili- 
pinos. The Spaniards believe themselves released from every legal obligation 
toward the Filipinos for the sole reason that the belligerency of the Eevolution 
has not been recognized, taking no account of the fact that over and above every 
law, whether written or prescriptive, are placed with imprescriptible characters, 
culture, national honor and humanity. ISTo; the Filipinos have no need ever to 
make use of reprisals because they seek independence with culture, liberty with 
unconditional respect for the law, as the organ of justice, and a name purified in 
the crucible of human sentiments. 

In virtue of the foregoing considerations the undersigned, giving voice to the 
unanimous aspiration of the people whom they represent, and performing the offices 
received from them and the duties pertaining to the powers with which they are 
invested, 

Proclaim solemnly in the face of the whole world the Independence of the 
Philippines; 

Eecognize and respect Senor Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy as President of the 
Eevolutionary Government, organized in the manner prescribed by decree of the 
23d and instructions of the 27th of June last, and beg the said President that he will 
ask and obtain from foreign Governments the recognition of its belligerency and 
independence, not only because this act constitutes a duty of justice, but also because 
to no one is it permitted to contravene natural laws nor stifle the legitimate aspira- 
tion of a people for its amelioration and dignification. 

Given in the Province of Cavite the 1st day of August, of the year of our Lord 
1898, and the first year of Philippine independence. 

Follow the signatures of the local Presidents of the Provinces of Cavite and many 
others. 

The undersigned. Secretary of the Interior, certifies. That the present document 
is a literal copy of the original, which is deposited in the Secretaryship under his 
charge; in proof of which he signs it, with the approval of the President of the Eevo- 
lutionary Government in Bacoor, the 6th day of August, 1898. 

El Presidcnte del G. E., 

EMILIO AGUINALDO. 
El Secretano del Interior, 
LEANDEO IBAEEA. 



84 PEOCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. 

LETTER FROM SENOR AGUINALDO TO GENERAL ANDERSON. 

July 23d, 1898. 
To Brigadier-General T. M. Anderson, U. S. A., etc., etc., Cavite. 

In answer to the letter of your Excellency dated the 22nd of the present month, 
I have the honor to manifest to you the following: 

That even supposing that the effects existing in the storehouse of Don Antonio 
Osorio were subject to capture, when I established myself in the plaza (town) of 
Cavite, Admiral Dewey authorized me to dispose of everything that I might find in 
the same, including the arms which the Spanish left in the arsenal. But as he was 
aware that said effects belonged to the personal property (ownership) of a Filipino, 
who traded with them by virtue of a contribution to the Spanish Government, I 
would not have touched them had not the owner placed them at my disposition for 
the purposes of the war. 

I came from Hong Kong to prevent my countrymen from making common cause 
with the Spanish against the North Americans, pledging, before, my word to Ad- 
miral Dew^ey to not give place to (to allow) any internal discord because (being) a 
judge of their desires I had the strong conviction that I would succeed in both 
objects; establishing a government according to their desires. 

Thus it is that at the beginning I proclaimed the dictatorship, and afterwards, 
when some of the Provinces had already liberated themselves from Spanish domina- 
tion, I established a revolutionary government that to-day exists, giving it a demo- 
cratic and popular character, as far as the abnormal circumstances of war permitted, 
in order that they (the Provinces) might be justly represented and administered to 
their satisfaction. 

It is true that my government has not been acknowledged by any of the foreign 
powers; but we expect that the great North American nation, which struggled first 
for its independence and afterwards for the abolition of slavery, and is now actually 
struggling for the independence of Cuba, would look upon it with greater benevo- 
lence than any other nation. Because of this we have always acknowledged the right 
of preference as to our gratitude. 

Debtor to the generosity of the North Americans, and to the favors which we 
have received through Admiral Dewey, and being more desirous than any other of 
preventing any conflict which would have as a result foreign intervention which 
must be extremely prejudicial not alone to my nation, but also to that of Your Ex- 
cellency, I consider it my duty to advise you of the undesirability of disembark- 
ing North American troops in the places conquered by the Filipinos from the 



PEOCLAMATIOXS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. 85 

Spanish^ without previous notice to this government, because as no formal agree- 
ment yet exists between the two nations, the Philippine people might consider the 
occupation of its territories by North American troops as a violation of its rights. 

I comprehend that without the destruction of the Spanish squadron the Phil- 
ippine revolution would not have advanced so rapidly; because of this I take the 
liberty of indicating to Your Excellency the necessities that before disembarking 
troops you should communicate in writing to this government the places that are to 
be occupied, and also the object of the occupation, that the people may be advised 
in due form and (thus) prevent the commission of any transgression against friend- 
ship. I can answer for my people, because they have given me evident proofs of their 
absolute confidence in my government, but I cannot answer for that which another 
nation, Avhose friendship is not well guaranteed, might inspire in it (the people); 
and it is certain that I do this not as a menace, but as a further proof of the true 
and sincere friendship which I have always professed to the North American peo- 
ple in the complete security that it will find itself completely identified with our 
cause of liberty. 

I am, with respect, Your obedient servant, 

EMILIO AGUINALDO. 



CHAPTEE VII. 
INTERVIEW WITH THE ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA. • 

Insurgents' Deadly Hostility to Spanish Priests — The Position of the Archbishop 
as He Defined It — His Expression of Gratitude to the American Army — His 
Characterization of the Insurgents — A Work of Philippine Art — The Sin- 
cerity of the Archbishop's Good Words. 

The intense feeling by the Philippine insurgents against the Spanish priests 
made it seem very desirable to see the Archbishop of Manila^ and he informed two 
American priests that he would have pleasure in making an expression of his views 
to me to be placed before the people of the United States. He had been charged 
with extreme vindictiveness and the responsibility of demanding that the city should be 
defended to the last extremity, when actuall}^, in the consultation of dignitaries that 
took place, and the surrender of the capital was demanded by Generall Merritt and 
Admiral Dewey, he declared the situation hopeless and that it was a plain duty to 
prevent the sacrifice of life. He was overruled by the peculiar folly that has caused 
Spain in the course of the war to inflict heavy and avoidable losses upon herself. 
Indeed/the war originated in the Spanish state of mind that it was necessary to open 
fire and shed blood for the honor of the arms of Spain. The Spanish officers knew 
they could not save Manila from the hands of the Americans while the command of 
the sea by our fi^eet was indisputable and v,^e had unlimited reserves to draw upon to 
strengthen the land forces, irrespective of the swarms of insurgents pressing in the rear 
and eager to take vengeance for centuries of mismanagement and countless personal 
grievances. It was the acknowledgment of the Spanish Captain-General, when he 
received the peremptory summons from Merritt and Dewey to give up the cit}", that 
there was no place of refuge for the women and children, the sick and the wounded; 
and yet it was insisted that the honor of Spain required bloodshed — not much, per- 
haps, but enough to prove that the army of Spain was warlike. When the American 
army had been reinforced so as to have 8,000 men ready to take the field, General 
Merritt and Admiral Dewey had a conference and agreed to send the Spaniards in 
authority a formal notification that in forty-eight hours they would bombard and 
assail the defenses of the city of Manila if it were not surrendered. The Spanish 
reply was that the Americans could commence operations at once, but there was no 
place where the women and children, the wounded and the sick could go to find a 

86 



tiSTTERVIEW WITH THE ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA. 87 

place of security. This was tantamount to a declaration that the Spaniards were 
sliding into a surrender^ but wanted to make a claim to the contrary. 

The residence of the Archbishop is within the walled city and a very sub- 
stantial edifice^ the stone work confined to the lower story and hardwood timber 
freely used in massive form instead of stone. His grace was seated at a small table in 
a broad hall, with a lamp and writing material before him. He is imposing as a 
man of importance and his greeting was cordial to kindliness. He said his acknowl 
edgments were personally due the Americaji people for the peace of mind he had 
enjoyed during the occupation of the city by the army of the United States, for its 
establishment of order and the justice in administration that relieved good citizens 
from oppression and alarm. He was glad to have Americans know his sensibility on 
this subject, and wanted me to convey his sentiments to the President. 

When asked what it was that caused the insurgents to be so ferocious against the 
priests and resolved on their expulsion or destruction he said the rebels were at once 
false, unjust and ungrateful. They had been lifted from savagery by Catholic teach- 
ers, who had not only been educators in the schools but teachers in the fields. The 
same Catholic Orders that were singled out for special punishment had planted in the 
islands the very industries that were sources of prosperity, and the leaders of the 
insurgents had been largely educated by the very men whom now they persecuted. 
Some of the persecutors had been in Europe and became revolutionists in the sense 
of promoting disorder as anarchists. It was the antagonism of the church to mur- 
derous anarchy that aroused the insurgents of the Philippines to become the deadly 
enemies of priests and church orders. It was true in Spain, as in the Philippines, 
that the anarchists were particularly inflamed against the church. His grace did not 
seem to have heard of the American anarchist, but the European revolutionist has 
received a large share of his attention. 

He produced a box of cigars, also a bottle of sherry, and chatted comfortably and 
humorously. There was one thing then that he had in his heart — that his anxiety 
for peace and appreciation of order as enjoyed under the American military govern- 
ment should be recorded and responsibly reported to the people of the United- 
States. The American priests had informed him that I was a friend of long standing 
of President McKinley, and he Egain enjoined that I should declare his senti- 
ments to the President. A beautiful work of wood carving was shown on an easel, 
which had a frame of hard wood, the whole, easel and frame, with elaborately 
wrought ornamentation, cut out of one tree. It was at once strong and 
graceful, simple and decorative. The picture was a gold medallion, raised on a 
plate of silver, an excellent likeness of his grace. It was evident that the refine- 



88 INTEEVIEW WITH THE ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA. 

ments of ait were known to "these barbarians of the PhiHppines/' for their works 
testified. 

His grace announced that he would return my call^ and liis convenience being 
consulted, the time was fixed for him to appear at 11 o'clock the next day, Sunday, 
and he came accordingly, accompanied by three priests, the chaplain of the First 
California, Father Daugherty who sailed with General Merritt to Manila, and Father 
Boyle, the superintendent of the famous observatory founded by the Jesuits, who 
was a typical Irishman of a strong and humorously hearty type. Father Boyle had 
one of the most perfect methods of spealdng Enghsh in the Irish way that I have 
ever heard, and admitted that he had resided in England long enough to be born 
there; and this was great fun. It is not too much to say that the institution he repre- 
sented is illustrious. 

The cathedral of Manila is within the walled city and of immense proportions. 
It was shattered by an earthquake, and in its reconstruction wood rather than 
marble was used for the supporting pillars within, but no one would find out that the 
stately clusters of columns were not from the quarries rather than the forests, unless 
personally conducted to the discovery. Here 2,000 Spanish soldiers, held under the 
articles of capitulation, were quartered, consumed their rations and slept, munching 
and dozing all around the altar and pervading the whole edifice. The other great 
churches, five in number, in the walled city, were occupied in the same way. The 
Archbishop was anxious tc have the soldiers otherwise provided with shelter, and 
if not all of them could be restored to their ordinary uses it was most desirable, in 
his opinioif, the cathedral should be. 

It is estimated that 2,000 of the American soldiers in the expeditionary force are 
Catholics, and Father Daugherty was anxious to preach to them in English. During 
the call upon me by the Archbishop this subject was discussed, and the suggestion 
made that the Americans had tents in great number that they did not occupy and 
that would probably not be preserved by keeping them stored in that hot and trying 
climate. They might be pitched on the Luneta, which is beside the sea, and the town 
thus relieved of 13,000 men, who, herded in churches, produced unsanitary condi- 
tions. This seemed reasonable, and the policy of the change would have a tendency 
to develop an element of good-wiU not to be despised and rejected. It might be 
that the cathedral alone could be cleared without delay or prejudice with a pleasant 
effect, and if so why not? His grace was certainly diplomatic and persuasive in 
staring the case, and his attendants were animated with zeal that the Americans 
should have the credit of re-opening the cathedral for worship. It Avas true the 
Spanish garrison first occupied it, but if the necessity that its ample roof should 



INTEKVIEW WITH THE AECHBISHOP OF MANILA. 89 

protect soldiers from the torrential rains had existed perhaps it had ceased to be 
imperative. The matter was duly presented to the military authorities, and the 
objection found to immediate action that the Spanish prisoners of war should not 
for the time be located outside the walled city. They must be held where they could 
be handled. 

Coincident with the call of the Archbishop came Captain Coudert, of the dis- 
tinguished family of that name in New York, and his grace was deeply interested 
in that young man and warmly expressed his gratification in meeting an American 
officer of his own faith. The Archbishop is a man of a high order of capacity, and 
his influence has been great. His position is a trying one, for it would be quite 
impossible for him to remain in Manila if the insurgents should become the masters 
of the situation. The claim of hostile natives that the Spanish priests have an 
influence in matters of state that make them a ruling class is one that they urge 
when expressing their resolve that the Friars must go. The Spanish policy, espe- 
cially in the municipal governments, has been to magnify the office of the priests in 
political functions. The proceedings of a meeting of the people in order to 
receive attention or to have legal standing must be certified by a priest. It is the 
Spanish priest that is wanted in matters of moment, and the laws make his pres- 
ence indispensable. The Spanish priest^ are, therefore, identified in the public mind 
with all the details of misgovernment. The civilized Filipinos profess Christianity 
and faith in the native priests, carefully asserting the distinction. In his conversation 
with me. General Aguinaldo repeatedly referred to the necessity of consulting 
his advisers, and said he had to be careful not to offend many of his followers, who 
thought he had gone very far in his friendship for the United States. He gave 
emphasis to the assertion that they were "suspicious'' of him on that account. It was 
my judgment at first that the General, in stopping short when a question was dif- 
ficult and referring to the Council he had to consult, was showing a capacity for 
finesse, that he really had the power to do or to undo, though he has not a personal 
appearance of possible leadership. Now this, even, has been modified. His Council 
seems to be the real center of power. When I was talking with Aguinaldo there 
were two American priests waiting to propose the de]5ortation of his prisoners who 
were priests, and he had to refer that question. The Council has decided to keep 
the priests in confinement, and it is remarked that the General desired to give up 
his prisoners and was false in saying he favored sending them to Spain. There are 
misapprehensions in this association. He has no doubt thought well of holding fast 
his most important hostages. If he personally desired to release the priests, he 
probably would not venture to do it. He is not so silly as to believe in his own 



90 INTEEVIEW WITH THE ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA. 

inviolability by bullets^ and digestion of poisons; and those who are such savages as 
to confide in these superstitions are not unlikely to try experiments just to strengthen 
their faith. The potentiality of Aguinaldo as a personage is not so great as has been 
imagined^ and if he attempts a rally against the American flag he will be found full 
of weakness. 

The Archbishop, I was told, had much pleasure in meeting an American he 
was assured would attempt to be entirely just, and present him according to his own 
declarations to the people of the United States. He knew very well, unquestionably, 
the stories circulated in the American camps, that his voice had been loudest and 
last in urging hopeless war, in telling impossible tales of visionary Spanish rein- 
forcements, and denouncing the Americans as "niggers'^ and "pigs." It is a fact 
that Spaniards have cultivated the notion among the rural Filipinos, that Americans 
are black men, and pigs is their favorite epithet for an American. The radical 
enemies of His Grace are, no doubt, responsible for unseemly stories about his 
animosities, for that he and those around him were sincere in their respect for, and 
gratitude toward the American army of occupation, for its admirable bearing and 
good conduct, was in itself too obviously true to be doubted. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
WHY WE HOLD THE PHILIPPINES. 

The Responsibility of Admiral Dewey— We Owe It to Ourselves to Hold the Philip- 
pines—Prosperity Assured by Our Permanent Possession— The Aguinaldo 
Question— Character Study of the Insurgent Leader— How Affairs Would 
Adjust Themselves for Us— Congress Must Be Trusted to Represent the 
People and Firmly Establish International Policy. 

If Admiral Dewey, after obeying the order of the President to destroy the Span- 
ish fleet at Manila, had steamed away and sought a station to get coal to drive liim 
some\Ahcre else, there would have been no Philippine question on the other side of 
the w^orld from Washington City. The Admiral desired to keep open telegraphic 
communication, and made a proposition to that effect, but the Spanish authorities 
curtly refused. Then the cable was cut by order of the Admiral, a section removed, 
and both ends marked by buoys. Reflection caused the Spaniards to regret that 
they had not consented to keep open the cable, that it might be used under restric- 
tions by both belhgerents. They mentioned their change of mind, and were told 
they were too late. The American Admiral may have been apprehensive, and he had 
reason to be, that the Spaniards, knowing they would be crushed in the West Indies 
if they risked a decisive naval engagement there, might send all their available ships 
of war to the Philippines, and secure a superiority of force, possibly to destroy their 
enemies at Manila. It is clear now that this is what the Spaniards ought to have 
tried to do. The Americans were committed to the blockade of Cuba, occupying 
all the vessels of war they had at hand, and the whole fleet of Spain could have been 
in the Suez Canal, on the way to Manila when the movement was known to our navy 
department. Then Admiral Dewey would, of course, have been warned by way of 
Hong Kong and a dispatch boat, that he should put to sea and take care of his men 
and ships. The result might have been the temporary restoration of the Philippines 
to Spain. Our Admiral, six hundred miles from Hongkong, the closest cable con- 
neciioM, could not afford to leave Manila in direct communication with Madrid. It 
was for this reason and not that he desired to keep out of way or orders, as some able 
publicists have kindly promulgated, that the Admiral cut the cable. 

The gravest of his responsibilities came upon him after his victory freed the 
harbor of declared enemies, and placed the great city at his mercy. If the Spaniards 

91 



92 . WHY WE HOLD THE PHILIPPIXES. 

used their big Krupp guns against his ships, he could bombard the city and burn it. 
He held the keys to the Philippines, with Manila under his guns, and the question 
before him then was the same before the country now. The question that inces- 
santly presses is, whether the Dewey policy is to be confirmed, and the logic of the 
stay in the harbor, and the dispatch of troops to take the town made good. We hold 
the keys of the Philippines. Shall we continue to do so? This question transcends 
in immediate importance — inevitable consequence — remote as well as near, all the 
war with Spain has raised. So broad a matter should not be rested on narrow 
grounds, nor decided with haste. It ought to be scrutinized in all its bearings, and 
all susceptibilities and material affairs regarded, for it will affect all the people for 
all time. 

What are the Philippines? They are the richest prize of soil and climate that 
has been at hazard in the world for many years — one that would be seized, if it could 
be done without war, by any of the great nations other than our own without hesi- 
tation. The only scruple we need entertain, the sole reason for deliberation, is be- 
cause it is a duty of the government to be sure when there are imperial considera- 
tioiis to be weighed, that the people should be consulted. It was on this account 
distinctly, that the President knew the issue of the permanency of the possession of 
the Philippines was one of peculiar novelty and magnitude, that he permitted it 
to exist. Spain must have been as accjuiescent in this as in yielding the independ- 
ence of Cuba, and the concession to us without any intermediate formality of Porto 
Eico. It is not inconsistent with the policy of magnanimity that is generally an- 
ticipated after the victory of a great power over a lesser one, that we should hold 
the Philippines. We have only to keep the power we have in peace, and let it work 
as a wholesome medicine, and all the islands of the group of which Manila is the cen- 
tral point, will be ours without conflict. In our system there is heahng for wounds, 
and attraction for the oppressed. The holding of the islands by Spain would signi- 
fy the continued shedding of blood, and drainage of the ^ital resources of the 
peninsula. As against Spain the Philippines will be united and desperate unto 
death, while they would without coercion walk hand in hand with us, and become the 
greatest of our dependencies — not states, but territories. 

It would be an act of mercy to Spain to send her soldiers and priests from the 
Phihppines, home. Even if we consent that she may keep her South Sea possession, 
she will lose it as she has all the rest, for the story of the Philippines is that of Span- 
ish South and Central America, and the modern story of Cuba is the old one of all 
countries South and West of the Gulf of Mexico and around by way of the Oceans 
1.0 Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Chili, and the rest had the same bloody 



WHY AVE HOLD THE PHILIPPINES. 93 

stream of histoiy to trace, and sooner or later the tale must all be told. Since 
Spain has already surrendered Cuba and Porto Rico, the record of the Philippines 
is the last chapter of her colonial experiences, by which she has dazzled and dis- 
gusted the world, attaining from the plunder of dependencies wealth that she in- 
Tested in o|)pressiA^e warfare to sustain a depraved despotism and display a grandeur 
that was unsound, sapping her own strength in colonial enterprises that could not be 
other than without profit, because the colonies were the property of the crown, 
and the prey of caste. 

The Spanish nation was forbidden by their gOYernment, not of the people or for 
the people, to profit by the colonies, and the viceroj^s, the captain-generals, and the 
whole official class were corrupted, and inefficient in all things, except methods of 
tyranny to procure a harvest of gold and silver not from the mines of the metals alone, 
but from the industries, whatever they were. The people at large were allowed 
no share in their own earnings, beyond a subsistence so scanty that deep humiliation 
and grievous hardship were the fateful rewards of labor. 

It was because the colonial policy of Spain impoverished and degraded the Span- 
iards at home, through the injustice, greed and profligacy of those abroad, that the 
huge structure, once so great an imposition upon mankind, a rotten fabric so gilt that 
the inherent weakness was disguised, has finally fallen into universal and irretrievable 
ruin. 

It is well Spain should retain the Canaries and the Balearic group, for they are as 
Spanish as any peninsular province, and legitimately belong therefore to the Idngdom. 
The application of this principle excludes Spain from the Philippines, and their des- 
have been committed by the failure of war to our hands. There is no nation that will 
dispute our peaceable possession of the Pliilippines. Any other nation's proprietor- 
ship will be challenged. Our authoritative presence in the islands will be a guarantee 
of peace, i^ny other assertion of supremacy will be the signal for war. Our as- 
sumption of sovereignty over the islands would quickly establish tranquility. Any 
other disposition of the burning questions now smoldering will cause an outburst of 
the flames of warfare. The Spaniards in Manila have been transient. They are not 
rooted in the soil. They all come and go like Captain-Generals, a mere official class, 
with the orders of the Church participating actively in secular concerns, more active 
as politicians than as teachers of rehgion. In the view of the native population it is as 
indispensable that the priests of Spain shall return to their native land as that the 
soldiers should go. The deportation of these people would remove classes of consumers 
and not affect unfavorably a productive industry, or the prosperit}^ of a self-sustain- 
ing community, and there would be but rare instances of the severance of family ties. 



94 WHY WE HOLD THE PHILIPPINES. 

It will be said of the affirmation that, the avowal of the possession of the Philip- 
pines as a responsibility without end would be a peace measure, and anything else 
make for war, does not take into account the attitude of the Philippine Dictator, by 
proclamation, General Aguinaldo, and his followers. We desire to speak with respect 
of the General, for he has shown in trying times, under strong temptations, the pres- 
ence in his character of personal integrity in public matters, and reference is made 
to his refusal to consent to the division among insurgents alleged to be leaders, of 
the money paid by the Spaniards for the disarmament of the rebels, when two years 
ago there was an agreement upon the terms of a truce. This money transaction has 
been referred to as the sale of their cause by Aguinaldo and his associates, as if they, 
as individuals, had pocketed the usufruct of the bargain. The money was paid by 
Spain as an earnest of her sincerity, the Captain-General representing the force 
and good faith of the kingdom, in granting reforms to the Philippinos. On condi- 
tion of insurgent disarmament the people of the island were to be allowed representa- 
tion in the Spanish Cortes, the orders of the Church were to be removed from rela- 
tions to the Government that were offensive to the people. There was a long list of 
articles of specification of the reforms that were to be granted, the usual liberality of 
words of promise always bestowed by Spain upon her colonists. The representatives 
of Spain denied nothing that was asked; and to give weight to the program of con- 
cessions, there was paid in hand to Aguinaldo, through a transaction between banks 
in Manila and Hongkong^ four hundred thousand dollars, the first installment of 
eight hundred thousand dollars agreed upon."^ The Spaniards probably understood 
that they were bribing the insurgents and paying a moderate sum to cheaply end 
the war; and it did not cost the authorities of Spain anything, for they exacted the 
money from the Manila Bank of Spain, and still owe the bank. Aguinaldo's under- 
standing, acted upon, was different. He accepted the money as a war fund, and has 
held and defended it for the purchase of arms, and resumed hostilities when all 
promises of reform were broken, and nothing whatever done beyond the robbery of 
the bank to bribe the rebel chiefs, which was the Spanish translation. Of course, it 
was claimed by the enemies of Aguinaldo that he was bought and paid for, but he 
has maintained the fund, though there were those professors of rebellion, who made 
claims to a share of the money. The second installment of the money that the rebels 
were to have been paid is yet an obligation not lifted, and the hostilities were revived 
as soon as the craft of the Spanish negotiators in promising everything because 

* In another chapter of this story of the Philippines will be found Senor Filipe 
Agonccllo's personal account of this affair. 



WHY WE HOLD THE PHILIPPINES. 95 

they meant to do nothing, became obvious. The actual proceedings in this case can 
be summed up in a sentence: The Spaniards took four hundred thousand dollars 
cut of the Bank of Spain and gave it to the insurgents, for a temporary armistice. 
General Aguinaldo, though he appears very well in refusing to employ the money 
paid by Spain as a bribe for himself, has not the elements of enduring strength as 
the leader of the insurgents. As against the Spaniards he can keep the field, and 
carry on a destmctive guerilla warfare, hopeless on both sides, like that going on in 
Cuba, when that island was invaded by the American army. But as against Ameri- 
can rule the Philippines would cease to be insurgents. The islanders will not be 
controlled by sentimentalism. Government by the United States w^ould differ from 
that by Spain, as the two nations are different in character, in the nature of their 
political institutions, in their progressive movement. America is all active and free, 
and her freedom would be extended to the islanders. The transformation would be 
one from the paralysis of despotism to the life of liberty. The words despotism and 
freedom would instantly have a distinct business meaning. Make known in the city 
of Manila that the Americans will abandon it, and the reviving hopes of the men of 
affairs would be instantly clouded, and the depression deepen into despondency and 
despair. Let it be the news of the day that the Americans will stay, and the intelli- 
gence of the city would regard its redemption as assured, every drooping interest re- 
vive, and an era of prosperity unknown under the dismal incompetency of Spain, 
open at once. It is legitimate that there should be freedom of speech as to the 
details of the proceedings. If our Government should do what Admiral Dewey did 
when he was the master of Manila, because he had annihilated the Spanish fleet and 
had the power to destroy the city — cast anchor and stay where we are already in 
command — the task is neither so complex nor costly as its opponents claim. Our 
territorial system is one easy of application to colonies. We have had experience of it 
from the first days of our Government. There is no commandment that a Territory 
shall become a State in any given time, or ever. We can hold back a Territory, as 
we have Arizona and New Mexico, or hasten the change to Statehood according to the 
conditions, and the perfect movement of the machinery requires only the pres- 
ence in Congress of dominant good sense. Congress is easily denounced, but no one has 
found a substitute for it, and it is fairly representative of the country. Congress will 
never gamble away the inheritance of the people. It will probably, in spite of all 
shortcomings, have its average of ability and utility kept up. Congress may go 
wrong, but will not betray. Our outlying possessions must be Territories until they 
are Americanized, and we take it Americans know what that word means. If a 
specification is wanted as a definition, we have to say the meaning is just what has 



96 WHY WE HOLD THE PHILTPPmES. . 

happened in California since our flag was there. In the case of the Philippines^, if 
we sticky and we do not see how we can help doing so, the President will, in regular 
course, appoint a Territorial Governor, and as a strong Grovernment capable of quick 
and final decisions must be made, the Governor should be a military man, and have a 
liberal grant, by special Act of Congress, of military authority. He should be a 
prompt, and all around competent administrator. He will not have to carry on war 
offensive or defensive. He need not be in a hurry to go far from Manila. He will 
not be molested there. The country will gravitate to him. The opponents of the 
Republican form of Government, as it is in the ITnited States and the Territories of 
the Xation will become insignificant in the Philippines. They will have no griev- 
ances, except some of them may not be called at once to put on the trappings of 
personal potentiality. General Aguinaldo would find all the reforms the Spanish 
promised when they paid him four hundred thousand dollars to prove their good 
intentions, free as the air. He could not make war against the benignancy of a 
Government, Republican in its form and its nature, which simply needs a little 
time, some years maybe, before erasing the wrongs that have had a growth of cen- 
turies. The American Governor-General need not send out troops to conquer dis- 
tricts,coercing the people. The joeople will soon be glad to see the soldiers of the 
United States, the representatives of the downfall and departure of the instruments 
of Spain. Aguinaldo and his party have a Congress. It might be an approved 
beginning of a Territorial Legislature, and the insurgent General might be the pre- 
siding officer. There would be abundant reason for the auspicious exercise of all his 
rights in the public service. As for the cost of the Philippines under our Govern- 
ment, that would fall upon the treasury of the United States. There can be no 
doubt that it would be for several years a considerable sum, but the public men who 
favored peace for the liberation of Cuba, did not make counting the cost the most 
prominent feature of the war they advocated, but accepted the fact that the 
national honor and fame, the glory of heroism and deeds of daring and sacrifice, are 
priceless, and their achievement beyond price. There is to be said under this head, 
that the Philippine Islands are of natural riches almost without parallel. The great 
isle of Luzon teems with productions that have markets the world over, and it is 
commonplace for the savages in the mountains to come out of their fastnesses with 
nuggets of gold to make purchases. Cotton, sugar, rice, hemp, coffee and tobacco, all 
tropical fruits and woods, are of the products. There is profusion of the riches that 
await the freedom of labor and the security of capital, and the happiness of the 
people. Under American government the Philippines would prosper, and it would 
be one of our tasks to frame legislation. The laws of Congress would be the higher 



WHY WE HOLD THE PHILIPPINES. 97 

«ode of law, and the Philippines would desire, and he invited, of course, to send their 
:abl-est men to be Territorial representalives in the Ccmgress of the United States. In 
the name of peace, therefore, and in hehall of the dignit}' and authority of this Nation 
— in mercy to the Spaniards, in justice to the Filipinos, it is due ourselves, and 
should have the favor of all who would see onr countr}^ expand with the ages, and 
walking in the footsteps of Washington and Jefferson, finchng the path of empire 
that of freedom and taking our place as a gxeat Power, accepting the logic of our 
history, and the discharge of the duties of destiny^— we should hold on to the Philip- 
pines — and when the great distance of those islands from this continent is men- 
tioned, remember that the Pacific may now be crossed in as few days as was the 
A.tlantic forty years ago. 

The labor questions and the silver questions even come into the Philippines prob- 
lem to be scanned and weighed. In Eastern Asia, which we have invaded, and a 
part of which we have appropriated for a time, the people use silver for the measure 
of value, and in the islands that interest us, as they do not deal in the mysteries of 
rupees, but in dollai's, the facts in the case are plainly within the common under- 
standing. In Manila tire Mexican dollar goe^s in ordinary small exchanges, pa3^ment 
of wages and Bettlement of bills, for fifty cents; but the banks sell the Mexicans 
twenty-one of them for ten gold dollars — an American eagle! So far as the native 
people go, labor and produce are counted in silver, and the purchaser, or employer 
gets as much for a silver dollar as for a gold dollar. The native will take ten dollar 3 
in gold for ten dollars only in all settlements of accounts, and would just as willingly 
— even more so, accept ten Mexican dollars as ten American dollars in gold coin. 
Salaries are paid and goods delivered according to the silver standard. Of course, in 
due time this state of tilings will pass away, ii we hold to the gold standard, but as the 
case stands the soldiers and sailors of our army and fl-cet, ,paid under the home stand- 
ard, receive double pay, and get double value received for clothing, tobacco and what- 
ever they find they want — indeed, for the necessaries and luxuries of life. The double 
standard in this shape is not distasteful to the boys. 

We have both theories and conditions confronting us in these aspects of the silver 
and labor questions. The Oriental people are obdurate in their partiality for silver. 
It is the cheaper labor that adheres to the silver standard, partially, it is held, because 
silver is the more convenient money for the payment of small sums. But labor can- 
not be ex^Dectecl, at its own expense, to sustain silver for the profit of capital, or rather 
of the middle man between labor and capital. Labor, so far as it is in politics in this 
country, should not, without most careful study and deliberation, conclude that its 
force in public affairs would be abated, and its policy of advancing wages antagonized 



98 WPIY WE HOLD TJIE PHILIPPINES. 

by the absorption of the Philippines in our country. On the contrary, the states- 
manship that is representative of labor may discover that it is a great fact, one of 
the greatest of facts, that the various countries and continents of the globe are being 
from year to year more and more closely associated, and that to those intelhgently 
interested, without regard to the application of their views of justice or expediency, 
in the labor and silver questions — the convictions, the fanaticisms, of the vast silver 
nations — and enormous multitudes of the people of Asia, touching the silver standard 
— and the possible progress of labor, as a guiding as well as plodding ability in- 
creases incessantly in interest, and must grow in inheritance. As the conditions of 
progressive civilization are developed our interests cannot be wholly dissevered from 
those of the Asiatics. We would be unwise to contemplate the situation of to-day as 
one that can or should perpetuate itself. Suppose we accept, the governing responsi- 
bility in the Philippines. It it not beyond the range of reasonable conjecture that 
American labor can educate the laborers of the Philippines out of their state of servi- 
tude as cheap laborers, and lead them to co-operate rather than compete with us, and 
not to go into the silver question further than to consent that it exists, and is in the 
simplest form of statement, whether the change in the market value of the two 
money metals is natural or artificial. It is necessary in common candor to state that 
the most complete solution of the money metal embarrassments would be through 
the co-operation of Asia and America. Europe is for gold, Asia for silver, and the 
Americas divided. Japan is an object lesson, her approximation to the gold stand- 
ard has caused in the Empire an augmentation of the compensation of labor. This 
is not wholly due to the change in the standard. The war with China, the increase 
in the army and nav}^, and the absorption of laborers in Formosa, the new country of 
Japan, have combined with the higher standard of value, to elevate wages. Al] facts 
are of primary excellence in the formation of the policies of nations. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 

Area and Population — Climate — Mineral Wealth — Agriculture — Commerce and 
Transportation — Revenue and Expenses — Spanish Troops — Spanish Navy — - 
Spanish Civil Administration — Insurgent Troops — Insurgent Civil Adminis- 
tration — United States Troops — United States Navy — United States Civil 
Administration — The Future of the Islands. 

General Frank V. Greene made an exhaustive study of all reports of an official 
character regarding the area, population, climate, resources, commerce, revenue and 
expenses of the Philippines Islands, and prepared a memorandum for the general 
information that is the most thorough and complete ever made, and is the latest and 
highest authority on all the subjects to which it relates, and they include the solid 
information the business men of the United States want respecting our Asiatic 
associations. The memorandum is herewith submitted in substance, and all the 
particulars of public concern. 

AREA AND POPULATION. 

These islands, including the Ladrones, Carolinas and Palaos, which are all under 
the Government of Manila, are variously estimated at from 1,200 to 1,300 in number. 
The greater portion of these are small and of no more value than the islands off the 
coast of Alaska. The important islands are less than a dozen in number, and 90 per 
cent, of the Christian population live on Luzon and the five principal islands of the 
Visayas group. 

The total population is somewhere between 7,000,000 and 9,000,000. This in- 
cludes the wild tribes of the mountains of Luzon and of ihe islands in the extreme 
south. The last census taken by the Spanish Government was on December 31, 188T, 
and this stated the Christian population to be 6,000,000 (in round numbers). This is 

distributed as follows: 

Per 

Area. Population. Sq. Mile. 

Luzon....... 44,400 3,426,000 79 

Panay '. . . . 4,700 735,000 155 

Cebu 2,400 504,000 210 

Leyte 3,300 279,000 71 

Bohol 1,300 245,000 188 

Negros 3,300 242,000 






59,800 5,422,000 91 

99 



-00 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 

The density of population in these six islands is nearly 50 per cent, greater than 
in Illinois and Indiana (census of 1890), greater than in Spain, about one-half as 
great as in France, and one-third as great as in J^apan and China, the exact figures 
beino^ as follows: 



'■a 



Area. 

Illinois: 56,000 

Indiana.... 35,910 



Population. 
3,82,6,351 
2,192,494 


Per- 

Sq. Mile. 
68 
61. 


6,018,755 

17,565,632 

38,517,975 

42,270,620 

383,253,029 


64 

88, 
189 
286 
292 



91,910 

Spain 197,670 

France 204,092 

Japan 147,655 

China..... ...... 1,312,32S 

The next most important islands, in the order of population, are: 

Per 
Area. Population. Sq. Mile; 

Mindanao 34,000 

Samar 4,800 

Mindoro 4,000 

Nomblon 600 

Masbate 1,400 



209,000 


6 


186,000 


38 


67,000 


17 


35,000 


58 


21,000 


15 



44,800 518,000 11 

Various smaller islands, including the Carolinas, Ladrones and Palaos, carry the 
total area and Christian population to — 

140,000 6,000,000 43 

This is considerably greater than the density of population in the States east of 
the Eocky Mountains. Owing to the existence of mountain ranges in all the 
islands, and lack of communication in the interior, only a small part of the surface is 
inhabited. In many provinces the density of population exceeds 200 per square 
mile, or greater than that of any of the United States, except Massachusetts and 
Rhode Island. The total area of the Phihppines is about the same as that of Japan^ 
but its civilized population is only one-seventh. 

In addition to the Christian population^, it is estimated (in the Official Guide) 
that the islands contain the following: 

Chinese (principally in Manila) 75,000 

Moors or Mohametans in Paragon and Jok 100,000 

Moors or Mohametans in Mindanao and Basilan 209,000 

Heathen in the Phihppines 830,000 

Heathen in the Carolinas and Palaos 50,000 



1,264,000 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 



101 



The Official Guide gives a list of more than thirty different races, each speaking 
a different dialect; but five-sixths of the Christian population are either Tagalos or 
Visayas. All the races are of the Malay type. Around Manila there has been 
some mixture of Chinese and Spanish blood with that of the natives, resulting in 
the Mestizos or Half-breeds, but the number of these is not very great. 

As seen in the provinces of Cavite and Manila, the natives (Tagalos) are of small 
stature, averaging probably 5 feet 4 inches in height, ind 120 pounds in weight for 
the men, and 5 feet in height, and 100 pounds in v eight for the women. Their 
skin is coppery brown, somewhat darker than that of the mulatto. They seem to 
be industrious and hard-working, although less so than the Chinese. By the Span- 
iards they are considered indolent, crafty, untruthful, cowardly and cruel, but the 



'SE^'^^■w^ ^»'<s^s!s!^%,\■i 



^f^ ; 




ORIENTAL HOTEL, MANILA. 

hatred between the Spaniards and the native races is so intense and bitter that the 
Spanish opinion of the natives is of little or no value. To us they seem industrious 
and docile, but there are occasional evidences of deceit and untruthfulness in their 
dealings with us. The bulk of the population is engaged in agriculture, and there 
were hardly any evidences of manufactures, arts or mining. The greater number 
seemed to be able to read and write, but I have been unable to obtain any exact 
figures on this subject. They are all devout Koman Catholics, although they hate 
the monastic orders. 

In Manila (and doubtless also in Cebu and Iloilo) are many thousands of edu- 
cated natives, who are merchants, lawyers, doctors and priests. They are well in- 
formed and have accumulated property. They have not traveled much, but there 
is said to be quite a numerous colony of rich Filipinos in Madrid, as well as in 



102 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 

Paris and London. The bibliography of the Philippines is said to number 4,500 
volumes, the greater part of which have been written by Spanish priests and mis- 
sionaries. The number of books on the subject in the English language is probably 
less than a dozen. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate is one of the jest known in the tropics. The islands extend from 
5 to 21 deg. north latitude, aid Manila is in 14d. 35m. The thermometer during 
July and August rarely went below 79 or above 85. The extreme ranges in a year 
are said to be 61 and 97, and the annual mean, 81. There are three well-marked 
seasons, temperate and dry from November to February, hot and dry from March to 
May, and temperate and wet from June to October. The rainy season reaches its 
maximum in July and August, when the rains are constant and very heavy. The 
total rainfall has been as high as 114 inches in one year. 

Yellow fever appears to be unknown. The diseases most fatal among the 
natives are cholera and smallpox, both of Avhich are brought from China. Low 
malarial fever is brought on by sleeping on the ground or being chilled by remaining, 
without exercise, in wet clothes; and diarrhea is produced by drinking bad water or 
eating excessive quantities of fruit. Almost all of these diseases are preventable by 
proper precautions, even fey troops in campaign. The sickness in our troops was 
very small, much less than in the cold fogs at camp in San Francisco. 

MINEEAL WEALTH. 

Very little is known concerning the mineral v/ealth of the islands. It is stated 
that there are deposits of coal, petroleum, iron, lead, sulphur, copper and gold in 
the various islands, but little or nothing has been done to develop them. A few 
concessions have been granted for working mines, but the output is not large. The 
gold is reported on Luzon, coal and petroleum on Cebu and Iloilo, and sulphur on 
Leyte. The imports of coal in 1894 (the latest year for which the statistics have 
been printed) were 91,511 tons, and it came principally from Australia and Japan. 
In the same year the imports of iron of all kinds were 9,632 tons. 

If the Cebu coal proves to be good quality there is a large market for it in com- 
petition with the coal from Japan and Australia. 

AGRICULTUEE. 

Although agriculture is the chief occupation of the Philippines, yet only one- 
ninth of the surface is under cultivation. The soil is very fertile, and even after 
deducting the m.ountainous areas, it is probable that the area of cultivation can be 
very largely extended, and that the islands can support a population equal to that of 
Japan (42,000,000). 




EX-COUNSUL GENERAL FITZBUGH LEE, NOW MAJOR-GENERAL COMMANDING. 




CAPTAIN SIGSBEE, COMMANDER OF THE ILL-FATED MAINE. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 103 

The chief products are rice, corn, hemp, sugar, tobacco, cocoanuts and cacao. 
€offee and cotton were formerly produced in large quantities — the former for export 
and the latter for home consumption; but the coffee plant has been almost exter- 
minated by insects, and the home made cotton clothes have been driven out by the 
competition of those imported from England. The rice and corn are principally pro- 
duced in Luzon and Mindoro, and are consumed in the islands; the rice crop is about 
765,000 tons; it is insufficient for the demand and 45,000 tons of rice were im- 
ported in 1894, the greater portion from Saigon, and the rest from Hongkong and 
Singapore; also 8,669 tons (say 60,000 barrels) of flour, of which more than two- 
thirds came from China and less than one-third from the United States. 

The cacao is raised in the southern islands, the best quality of it in Mindanao. 
The production amounts to only 150 tons, and it is all made into chocolate and 
consumed in the islands. 

The sugar cane is raised in the Visayas. The crop yielded, in 1894, about 
235,000 tons of raw sugar, of w^hich one-tenth was consumed in the islands and 
the balance, or 210,000 tons, valued at $11,000,000, was exported, the greater part 
to China, Great Britain and Australia. 

The hemp is produced in southern Luzon, Mindoro, the Visayas and Mindanao. 
It is nearly all exported in bales. In the year 1894 the amount was 96,000 tons, 
Talued at $12,000,000. 

Tobacco is raised in all the islands, but the best quality and the greatest amount 
in Luzon. A large amount is consumed in the islands, smoking being universal 
among the women as ^vell as the men, but the best quality is exported. The amount, 
in 1894, was 7,000 tons of leaf tobacco, valued at $1,400,000, and 1,400 tons of 
manufactured tobacco, valued at $1,750,000. Spain takes 30 per cent, and Egypt 
10 per cent of the leaf tobacco. Of the manufactured tobacco, 70 per cent, goes to 
China and Singapore, 10 per cent, to England, and 5 per cent, to Spain. 

Cocoanuts are grown in southern Luzon and are used in various ways. The 
products are largely used in the islands, but the exports, in 1894, were valued at 
:$2,400,000. 

Cattle, goats and sheep have been introduced from Spain, but they are not 
numerous. Domestic pigs and chickens are seen around every hut in the farming 
■districts. 

The principal beast of burden is the carabac or water buffalo, which is used for 
ploughing rice fields, as well as drawing heavy loads on sledges or on carts. 

Large horses are almost unknown, but there are great numbers of native ponies, 
from nine to twelve hands high, but possessing strength and endurance far beyond 
their size. 



104 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 

COMMERCE AND TRANSPOETATION. 

The internal commerce between Manila and the different islands is quite large^ 
but I was unable to find any official records giving exact figures concerning it. It is 
carried on almost entirely by water^ in steamers of 500 to 1,000 tons. There are 
regular mail steamers, once in two weeks, on four routes, viz.: Northern Luzon,. 
Southern Luzon, Yisayas and Mindanao; also a steamer every two months to the 
Carolinas and Ladrones, and daily steamers on Manila Bay. These lines are all sub- 
sidized. To facilitate this navigation extensive harbor works have been in progress at 
Manila for several years, and a plan for lighlS'ng the coasts has been made, calling 
for forty-tliree principal lights, of which seventeen have already been constructed 
in the m.ost substantial manner, besides sixteen lights of secondary importance. 

There is only one line of railway, built by English capital, running from Manila 
north to Dagupan, a distance of about 120 miles. The roads in the immediate 
vicinity of Manila are macadamized and in fairly good order; elsewhere they are 
narrow paths of soft, black soil, which becomes almost impassable in the rainy sea- 
son. Transportation is then effected by sledges, drawn through the mud by carabacs. 
There are telegraph lines connecting most of the provinces of Luzon with Manila, 
and cables to the Visayas and southern islands, and thence to Borneo and Singapore,, 
as well as a direct cable from Manila to Hongkong. The land telegraph lines are 
owned by the Government, and the cables all belong to an English company, which 
receives a large subsidy. In Manila there is a narrow gauge street railway, operated 
by horse-powder, about eleven miles in total length; also a telephone system, and 
electric lights. 

Communications with Europe are maintained by the Spanish Trans-Atlantic 
Company (subsidized), which sends a steamer every four weeks from Manila and 
Barcelona, making the trip in about twenty-seven days. The same company also, 
sends an intermediate steamer from Manila to Singapore, meeting the French Mes- 
sagoric each way. There is also a non-subsidized line running from Manila to 
Hongkong every two weeks, and connecting there with the Enghsh, French and 
German mails for Europe, and with the Pacific mail and Canadian Pacific steamers 
for Japan and America. 

There has been no considerable development of manufacturing industries in the- 
Philippines. The only factories are those connected with the preparation of rice, 
tobacco and sugar. Of the manufactures and arts, in which Japan so excels, there i& 
no evidence. 

The foreign commerce amounted, in 1894, to $28,558,552 in imports, and 



THE PlIILIPPIXE ISLANDS AS THEY AKE. 



105 



$33,149,984 in exports, 80 per cent, of which goes through Manila. About 60 per 
cent, of the trade is carried in British vessels, 20 per cent, in Spanish and 10 per 
cent, in CTcrnian. 

The value of the commerce with other countries in 1894 was as follows-. 



IN ]\IILLIONS OF DOLLARS (SILVEE). 

Imports. ExDorts. 

Spain 10.5 ^ 2.9 • 

Great Britain 7.1 8.7 

China 4.6 6.8 

Germany 1.9 

Saigon 9 

United States 7 7.4 

France 7 1.2 

Singapore .4 1.7 

Japan : 2 1.2 

Australia 1 2.6 

Other Countries 1.5 .6 

25.6 ' 33.1 

It is interesting to note that next to Great Britain we are the largest customers 
of the Philippines, and that they export to us nearly three times as much as to 
Spain. On the other hand Spain sells to the Philippines fifteen times as much 
as we do. 

The articles of import and their value in 1894 were as follows: 



IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS (SILVER). 



Cotton Goods 3.9 

Cotton Yarns 1.2 

Wines 1.8 



Great 
Spain. Britain. China. 



Mineral Oils . . 

Iron 

Rice 

Flour 

Sweet Meats. . 

Paper 

Linen Goods . . 

Hats 

Other Articles, 



.2 



.0 

.4 

.1 

.1 

2.3 



4.0 
.9 



.1 



1.4 



.2 

l.C 

.7 



2.0 



Ger- 
many. 
.3 
.1 



.2 



Other 
United Coun- 
States. tries. 



.7 
.1 
.1 
Russia. 
.8 
.1 
.1 



Total. 
9.3 



2.5 
1.9 

1.4 
1.2 
1.1 

.9 
.8 
.7 
.6 
.6 
7.6 



10.5 



7.1 



4.6 



1.9 



3.8 28.6 



106 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY APE. 

The articles of export and their value in 1894 were as follows: 

IN MILLIONS OF DOLLAES (SILVEE). 

Other 
Great United Aus- Coun- 

Spain. Britain. China. States, tralia. tries. Total. 

Hemp 5.3 .9 6.6 .6 1.1^ 14.5 

Sugar 4 2.7 4.0 .7 1.9 1.3^ 11.0 

Man'f. Tobacco. ...- .2 .1 .7 .. .1 .T 1.3 

Leaf Tobacco 1.1 , .3 1.4 

Coffee 3 .. .1 .. .. .. .4 

Cocoanuts .6 .1 .. .. .. .7 

Other Articles 9 .. 1.0 .1 .. 1.3 3.3 

2.9 8.7 6.8 7.4 2.6 4.7 33.16 

^ Principally to Singapore. 
^Principally to Japan. 

With these islands in our possession and the construction of railroads in the 
interior of Luzon, it is probable that an enormous extension could be given to this 
commerce, nearly all of which would come to the United States. Manila cigars of 
the best quality are unknown in America. They are but little inferior to the best 
of Cuba, and cost only one-third as much. The coffee industry can be revived and 
the sugar industry extended, mainly for consumption in the far East. The mineral 
resources can be explored with American energy, and there is every reason to be- 
lieve that when this is done the deposits of coal, iron, gold and lead will be found very 
valuable. On the other hand, we ought to be able to secure the greater part of 
the trade which now goes to Spain in textile fabrics, and a considerable portion of 
that with England in the same goods and in iron. 

EEVENUE AND EXPENSES. 

The budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, was as follows: 

INCOME. 

1st. Direct Taxes $8,496,170 

2nd. Indirect Taxes (Customs) 6,200,550 

3rd. Proceeds of Monopohes 1,222,000 

4th. Lottery 1,000,000 

5th. Income of Government Property 257,000 

6th. Sundry Eeceipts 298,300 

Total $17,474,020 



THE PHILIPPIXE ISLAXDS AS THEY ARE. 107 



EXPENSES. 

1st. General Expenses, Pensions and Interest $1^506,686 

2nd. Diplomatic and Consular Service 74,000 

3rd. Clergv and Courts 1,876,740 

4th. War Department 6,035,316 

5th. Treasury Department. 1,392,414 

6th. Xavy D'^epartmeiit 3,562,716 

7th. Civil Administration 2,195,378 

8th. Education 614,395 

Total $17,258,145 

The Direct Taxes were as follows: 

1st. Eeal Estate, 5 per cent, on income $ 140,280 

2nd. Industry and Commerce 1,400,700 

3rd. Cedalas'^CPoll Tax) 5,600,000 

4th. Chinese Poll Tax 510,190 

5th. Tribute from Sultan of Jolo * 20,000 

6th. Railroads, 10 per cent, of Passenger Receipts 32.000 

7th. Income Tax, 10 per cent, on Public Salaries 730^000 

8th. Sundry Taxes 63,000 

Total $8,496,170 

Indirect Taxes were as follows: 

1st. Imports * $3,600,000 

2nd. Exports 1,292,550 

3rd. Loadino- Tax 410,000 

4th. Uoloadnio- Tax 570,000 

5th. Fines and Penalties '. 27,000 

6th. Special Tax on Liquors, Beer, Veo'etables, Flour, 

Salt and Mineral Oils . . . .^ 301,000 

Total $6,200,550 

Monopolies: 

1st. Opium Contract ." $ 576.000 

2nd. Stamped Paper and Stamps 646.000 

Total $1,222,000 

Lottery: 

Ist^ Sale of Tickets, Less Cost of Prizes $ 964,000 

2nd. Unclaimed Prizes 30,000 

3rd. Sundry Receipts 6,000 

Total $1,000,000 

Income of Goyernment Property: 

1st. Forestry Privileges $ 1 70.000 

2nd. Sale and Rent of Public Land and Buildings 85,000 

3rd. Mineral Privileges 2.00C 

Total $257,00(1 



108 



THE PHILIPPIXE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 



Sundry Receipts: 

1st. Mint (Seignorage). = $200,000 

2nd. Sundries. 98,300 



Total $298,300 

The largest source of income is tli Cedala or Poll Tax. Every man and woman 
above 18 years of age, residing in the Philippines, whether Spanish subject or for- 
eigner, is required to have in his or her possession a paper stating name, age, and 
occupation, and other facts of personal identity. Failure to produce and exhibit 
this when called upon renders anyone liable to arrest and imprisonment. This 




paper is obtained from the internal revenue office annually, on payment of a cer- 
tain sum, varying, according to the occupation and income of the person from 
$0.75 to $20.00, ^nd averaging about $3.00 for each adult. An extra sum of 2 per 
cent, is paid for expenses of collection. The tax is collected at the Tribunal in each 
pueblo, and 20 per cent, is retained for expenses of local administration, and 80 per 
cent, paid to the General Treasury. This tax falls heavily on the poOr and lightly 
on tiie rich. The tax on industry and comn^erce is similarly graded according to the 
volume of business transacted by each merchant or mercantile corporation. The tax 
on real estate is absurdly low and levied only on municipal property and on the 
rent, not the value. 



THE PHILIPPIXE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 109 

The tax on imports is specific and not acl valorum; it amounts to about 13 per cent. 
of estimated values. The free list is very small, nearly everything of commercial 
value which is imported being subject to duty. The revenue from imports has 
increased from $566,143 in 1865, to $3,695,446 in 1894. It was about the same in 
1897. On the other hand the export tax, which was nothing in 1892, the load- 
ing tax, which was nothing in 1893, and the unloading tax, which was nothing in 
1894, have all'been increased in the last few years in order to m.eet the expenses of 
suppressing the insurrection. These three items yielded nearly $2,700,000 in 1897. 

The monopoly of importing and selling opium is sold, by auction, to the highest 
bidder for a term of three years. The present contract runs until 1899, and yields 
$48,000 per month. 

Every legal document must be drawn up on paper containing a revenue stamp, 
engraved and printed in Spain, and every note, check, draft, bill of exchange, receipt 
or similar document must bear a revenue stamp in order to be valid. These stamp= 
and stamped paper yielded a revenue of $646,000 in 1897. 

The lottery is conducted by the Government — the monthly drawings taking place 
in the Treasury (Hacienda) Department. The sale of tickets yielded $1,000,000 
over and above prizes in 1897. jjl 

In a report to General Merritt, on August 29th, I recommended that the opium 
contract be cancelled and the lottery abandoned during our occupation of Manila; 
and as the poll tax and the tax on industry and commerce had been paid for the 
most part in the early part of the yeai, our chief sources of revenue were from the 
custom house, the sale of stamps and stamped paper, and the sale of such licenses as 
the law allowed (amusements, liquor saloons, etc.), for the benefit of the city of 
Manila as distinguished from the general revenue. I estimated the total at about 
$500,000 per month. 

The expenses of administering the military govermnent of occupation (apart 
from the expenses of the army) will consist of the current expenses of the ofhce 
at the Provost Marshal General's office and its various bureaus — at the custom house, 
internal revenue office, and other offices — and the salaries of interpreters and minor 
employes who are anxious to resume work as soon as they dare do so. An estimate 
of these expenses was being prepared at the time I left, but was not completed. It 
can hardly exceed $200,000 per month and may be much less. This should leave 
$300,000 (silver) excess of income per month, to go towards the mihtary expenses 
of occupation. 

As soon as it is decided that we are to retain the islands it will be necessary to 
make a careful studv of the sources of revenue and items of expenses for all the 



110 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 



islands, with a view to thoroughly understanding the subject, before introducing the 
extensive changes which will be necessary. 

CURRENCY. 

The standard of value has always, until within a few years, been the Mexican 
milled dollar. The Spanish dollar contains a little less silver and, in order to 
introduce it and profit by the coinage, the Spaniards prohibited the importation of 
Mexican dollars a few years since. Large numbers of Mexican dollars remained 







in that country, however, and others were smuggled in. The two dollars circulate 
at equal value. 

All valuations of goods and labor are based on the silver dollar, and a change ta 
th5 gold standard would result in great financial distress and many failures among 
the banks and mercantile houses in Manila. Their argument is that while an 
American ten-dollar gold piece will bring twenty-one silver dollars at any bank or 
house having foreign connections, yet it will not buy any more labor or any more 
hemp and sugar from the original producer than ten silver dollars. The products of 
the country are almost entirely agricultural, and the agricultural class, whether it 
sells its labor or its products, would refuse to accept any less than the accustomed 
wages or prices, on account of being paid in the more valuable coin. The result 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 



Ill 



of the change would be that the merchant or employe would have to pay double 
for what he buys, and would receive no increase for what he sells. While trade 
would eventually adjust itself to the change, yet many merchants would be ruined in 
the process and would drag some banks down with them. 

The Mexican dollar is the standard also in Hongkong and China, and the whole 
trade of the Far East has, for generations, been conducted on a silver basis. Japan 
has, within the last year, broken away from this and established the gold standard, 
but in doing so the relative value of silver and gold was fixed at 32^ to 1, or about, 
the market rate. 




PoL^-%^ 1^-^.^rut^ /7^. (JiM^<^>^ 



PUBLIC DEBT. 

I was unable to obtain any precise information in regard to the colonial debt. 
The last book on statistics of imports and exports was for the fiscal year 1894, and 
the last printed budget was for 1896-7, which was approved by the Queen Regent in 
August, 1896. Subsequent to this date, according to the statements made to me by 
foreign bankers, the Cortes authorized two colonial loans of $11,000,000 (silver) 
each, known as Series A and Series B. The proceeds were to be used in suppressing 
the insurrection. Both were to be secured by a first lien on the receipts of the 
Manila custom house. 

Series A is said to have been sold in Spain and the proceeds to have been paid into 
the Colonial Office; but no part of them has ever reached the Philippines. Possibly 



112 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 

a portion of it was used in sending out the 25,000 troops which came from Spain 
to the Phihppines in the autumn of 1896. 

Series B was offered for sale in Manila, but was hot taken. An effort was then 
made to obtain subscribers in the Provinces, but with little or no success. The 
Government then notified the depositors in the Public Savings Bank- (a branch of 
the Treasury Department similar to the postal savings bureaus in other countries) 
that their deposits would no longer be redeemed in cash, but only in Series B bonds. 
Some depositors were frightened and took bonds, others declined to do so. Then 
came the blockade of Manila and all business was practically suspended. 

Xo printed report has been made concerning the debt, and I was unable to 
obtain any satisfactory statement of the matter from the treasury officials. 

The exact in regard to the Series A bonds can be learned in Madrid; but it will 
be difficult to learn how many of Series B were issued and what consideration was 
received for tliem. 

As already stated, both series of bonds rest for security on the receipts of the 
Manila custom house. 

SPANISH TROOPS. 

The Spanish prisoners of war number about 13,000, including about 400 officers. 
The infantry arms are about 32,000, the greater part Mauser model 1895, caliber 28, 
and the others Remingtons, model 1889, caliber -13. The ammunition is about 
S2,000,000 rounds. The field artillery consists of about twelve breech-loading steel 
guns, caliber 8 5-10 inches, and ten breech-loading mountain guns, caliber 3 2-10 
inches. There are six horses (ponies) for each gun, but the harness is in bad order. 
Ammunition, about sixty rounds per gun, with possibly more in the arsenals. There 
are about 500 cavalry ponies, larger than the average of native horses, with saddles 
and equipments complete. There is also a battalion of engineers. The fortifications 
of the walled city are a fine sample of the Yauban type, on which military engineers 
expended so much ingenuity 150 years ago, and of which Spain possessed so many 
in her Flemish dominions. The first walls of Manila were built about 1590, but 
the present fortifications date from a short time after the capture and occupation of 
the place by the English, in 1762-61. They consist of bastions and curtains, deep, 
wet ditch, covered way, lunettes, demilunes, horn works, and all the scientific acces- 
sories of that day. They are in a good state of preservation, and mount several 
hundred bronze guns, but they are chiefly of interest to the antiquarian. On the 
glacis facing the ba}', and also on the open space just south of the walls, are 
mounted 9-inch breech loaders, four in all, made at Hoatoria, Spain, in 1884. 
They are well mounted, between high traverses, in which are bomb-proof magazines. 



THE PPIILIPPIXE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 113 

These guns are practically iminjiired, and Admiral Dewey has the breech blocks. 
While not as powerful as the guns of the present day of the same caliber, the} are 
capable of effective service. Their location, however, is very faulty, as they are on 
the shore of the bay, with all the churches, public buildings and most valuable 
property immediately behind them. On the day after the naval battle Admiral 
Dewey sent word to the Governor-General that if these guns fired a shot at any of 
his vessels he would immediately reply with his whole c-quadron. Owing to their 
location, this meant a bombardment of the city. This threat was effective; these 
guns were never afterward fired, not even during the attack of August 13th, and in 
return the navy did not fire on them, but directed all their shells at the forts and 
trenches occupied by the troops outside of the suburbs of the city. 

Within the w^alled city are the cathedral and numerous churches, convents and 
monasteries, the public offices, civil and military, military workshops and arsenals, 
barracks for artillery, cavalry and engineers, storehouses and a few dwellings 
and shops. 

The infantry barracks are outside of the walls, four in number; viz.: iSTeysing, 
Fortin, Calzada and Fruita. They are modern and well constructed, and will 
accommodate about 4,000 men. They are now occupied by the United States troops. 

Under the terms of the armistice the arms laid down by the Spanish troops on 
August 14th are to be returned to them w^henever they evacuate the city, or the 
American army evacuates it. All other public property, including horses, artillerv, 
public funds, munitions, etc., is surrendered to the United States unconditionally. 

The question of sending back the troops to Spain is left absolutely to the 
decision of the authorities in Washington. They are all within the walled cit}', but 
as the public buildings are insufficient to accommodate them, they are quartered in 
the churches and convents. These buildings are not adapted for this purpose; 
they have no sinks, lavatories, kitchens or sleeping apartments, and there is great 
danger of an epidemic of sickness if the troops are not soon removed. 

Pending their removal they are being fed with rations furnished by the United 
States Commissary Department, and the officers receive from the United States suf- 
ficient money for their support. 

SPANISH NAVY. 

At the outbreak of the war the naval force in the Philippines consisted of 

10 Cruisers. 
19 Gunboats. 

4 Armed Launches. 

3 Transports. 

1 Survey Boat. 

37 



114 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 

Of these Admiral Dewey destroyed, on May 1st, ten cruisers and one transport, 
and he has since captured two gunboats. The Spaniards have sunk one transport 
and two or three gunboats in the Pasig Eiver. There remain thirteen or fourteen 
gunboats, which are scattered among the islands. They are of iron, from 140 to 200 
tons each, are armed with one breech-loading rifle, caliber 3 6-10 inches, and two to 
four machine guns, each caliber 44-100 to 1 inch. One of the captured boats, the 
Callao, under command of Lieutenant Tappan, United States Navy, and a crew 
of eighteen men, rendered very efficient service in the attack of August 13th. These 
boats would all be useful in the naval police of the islands. They will, however, prob- 
ably be scuttled by the Spaniards before the islands are surrendered. 

The Navy Yard at Cavite has barracks for about 1,500 men (now occupied by 
United States troops) and has shops and ways for light work and vessels of less than 
1,000 tons. Many of the gunboats above mentioned v/ere built there. The shal- 
low depth of Avater in Canacoa or Cavite Bay would prevent the enlargement of this 
naval station to accommodate large vessels, and the plan of the Spaniards was to 
create a large naval station in Subig Bay, on which considerable money has already 
been spent. 

SPANISH CIVIL ADMINISTRATION. 

The Government of the Philippine Islands, including tlie Ladrones, Carolinas 
and Palaos, is vested in the Governor-General, who, in the language of the Spanish 
Official Guide, or Blue Book, "is the sole and legitimate representative in these islands 
of the supreme power of the Government of the King of Spain, and, as such, is th 
supreme head of all branches of the public service, and has authority to inspect an() 
supervise the same, not excepting the courts of justice." The office is held by ^ 
Lieutenant-General in the Spanish army, and he is also Yice Royal Patron of the 
Indies, exercising in these islands the ecclesiastical functions conferred on the King 
of Spain by various Bulls of the Popes of Rome, Captain-General-in-Chief of the 
Army of the Philippines, Inspector-General of all branches of the service, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces, and President of all corporations and societies 
which partake of an official character. 

What corresponds to his Cabinet, or Ministry, consists of 

(a) The Archbishop of Manila and four Bishops, who administer ecclesiastical 
affairs in the five dioceses into which the islands are divided for this purpose; the 
appointment of parish priests and curates, however, is vested in the Governor- 
General. The various religious orders which exercise so large an influence in the 
politics and business of the islands, viz.: Augustinians, Dominicans, Recollects. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 115 

Franciscans, Capuchins, Benedictines and Jesuits, are all under the management of 
the Bishops, subject to the supervision of the Pope, and the prerogatives of the King 
as Eoyal Patron, which prerogatives are exercised by the Governor-General as 
Viceroy. 

(b) The High Court of Justice in Manila, which is the Court of Appeals in civil 
and governmental cases for all the islands. There are two principal criminal courts 
in Cebu and Vigan (northern Luzon) and appeal in criminal cases lies to these 
courts or to the High Court of Manila. In every Province there is a court of 
primary jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases. 

(c) The General, second in command, who is a . General of Division in the 
Spanish army. He is the sub-inspector of all branches of the military service, is 
Military Governor of the Province and city of Manila and commands all the troops 
stationed therein, and in the absence or sickness of the Captain General he com- 
mands all the military forces in the islands. 

(d) The General Commandant of Dock Yards and Squadron. This post is filled 
by a Vice Admiral in the Spanish navy, and he commands the naval forces, ships and 
establishments in the islands. 

(e) The Minister of Finance, or Intendente General de Hacienda, who is charged 
with the collection of customs and internal taxes, the expenditures of public money, 
and the audit and control of public accounts. 

(f) The Minister of the Interior, or Director General of Civil Administration, 
who is charged with all public business relating to public instruction, charities, 
health, public works, forests, mines, agriculture, industry and commerce, posts and 
telegraphs and meteorology. 

For the purpose of local administration the islands are divided into Provinces and 

Districts, classified as follows: 

19 Civil Governments. 
24 Political-Military Governments. 
23 Political-Military Commands. 
15 Military Commands. 

The most important of the Provinces are Manila, with a population of 400,238 
(of which 10 per cent, are Chinese), and Cebu, with 504,076; and the least important 
districts are Balabas and Corregidor, with 420 and 320 respectively. 

The governor or commandant has supreme control within his province or dis- 
trict of every branch of the public service, including the Courts of Justice, and each 
reports to the Governor General. The Guardia Civil or Gendarmerie, is subject 
only to his orders, and for arrests and imprisonment for political offenses, he is re- 
sponsible, not to the law, but to the Governor General and the King. 



lie THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 

The Civil Governments are governed by Civil Governors, of the rank in the 
Spanish Civil Service of Chiefs of Administration of the second class. The Politi- 
cal Military Governments and Commands are in charges of military and naval officers 
of various grades, according to their size and importance; ranging from General of 
Division at Mindanao, Brigadier-Generals at Cebu and Iloilo, Captain in the navy 
at Paragua, down to Lieutenant at Balabas and Corregidor. 

The Civil or Military Governor is assisted by a secretary, a judge, an administrator 
of finances, a postmaster and a captain of police. 

The affairs of cities are managed by a council (Ayuntamiento) consisting of a 
president, a recorder (Sindico), one or more mayors (Alcaldo), six to ten aldermen 
(Eegidores) and a secretary. 

Outside of the cities each province or district is divided into a number of vil- 
lages or parishes (Pueblos); the total number of these is 1,055; in each there is a 
parish priest, a municipal captain, a justice of the peace, a school master and school 
mistress. The number of cities is very small, and the social life of the community 
depends almost wholly on the form of government of the Pueblos, or villages. In 
1893 this was reorganized with the alleged intention of giving local self-govern- 
ment. The scheme is complicated and curious and only an outline of it can be given 
here. It is contained in full in the Royal Decree of May 19, 1893, a long document, 
supplemented by still longer regulations for carrying the same into effect. 

In brief every Pueblo in which there are paid more than 1,000 Cedulas (poll tax) 
shall have a municipal tribunal consisting of five members, by whom its local affairs- 
and funds ^hall be managed. The members are a 

Municipal Captain. 
Senior Lieutenant. 
Lieutenant of Police. 
Lieutenant of Agriculture. 
Lieutenant of Cattle. 

And the Village Priest is required to attend all the important meetings. 

The Captain holds office for four years, and is eligible for indefinite re-election; 
the Lieutenants hold office for four years also, one-half of them going out of office 
every two years, and they are ineligible for re-election until two years after 
the expiration of their . term. Both Captains and Lieutenants are elected, on 
a day designated by the Governor, and in presence of the village priest, and out- 
going Captain, by the Principalia, or body of principal men of the village. The vil- 
lage is subdivided into Barangayes, or group of about 100 families each, and for each 
Barangay there is a Chief or Headman (Cabeza), who is appointed by the Governor,. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 117 

on the recommendation of the Municipal Tribunal. The Principalia is made up oi 

Former Municipal Captains. 

Former Municipal Lieutenants. 

Former Gobernadorcilles. 

Chiefs of Barangayes. 

All inhabitants paying more than $50 annually in taxes. 

The Principalia choose the 12 electors as follows: 

6 from the Chiefs of Barangayes. 
3 from Former Municipal Captains. 
3 from the largest taxpayers. 

The electors hold office for six years, and one-third go out of office every two 
years. 

The municipal Captain must be a resident of the village, more than 25 years of 
age, read and speak Spanish and be a Chief of Barangay. While the Municipal 
Tribunal nominally controls the local affairs, yet the Captain has the right to sus- 
pend all its acts which he considers against the public welfare, and report the mat- 
ter to the Provincial Governor, who has power to rescind them; the Captain appoints 
all village employes, and removes them at will; he can also fine and punish them 
for petty offenses; he issues orders to the police and collects the taxes. He holds a 
commission as Delegate or Representative of the Governor General, and, in fact, he 
exercises within his little bailiwick the same supreme power that the governor ex- 
ercises in the province, and the Governor General in the whole Archipelago. 

In each province there is a Junta or Council, whose membership consists of 

The Administrator of Finance. 

Two Vicars. 

The Public Physician. 

The latter Four Members must be residents of the Capital of the Province, and 
they are elected by the Municipal Captains, from a list of names submitted to them 
by the Junta with the approval of the Governor. 

The functions of this Junta or Council are solely those of inspection and advice. 
It watches over affairs of the Municipal Tribunals, and reports to the Governor its 
advice and recommendations concerning them. The Municipal Captain is obliged 
to deposit the taxes in the Provincial Treasur}', the keys of which are held by three 
members of the Council; he draws out the money in accordance with the municipal 
budget, and his accounts must be approved by his lieutenants, countersigned by the 
village priest, passed upon by the Provincial Council, and finally approved by the 
Governor. 

The Governor has power to suspend the Municipal Captain or any of his col- 
leagues for a period of three months, and t"he Governor General can remove one or 



118 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 

all of them from office at will; and "in extraordinary cases or for reasons of public 
tranquility^ the Governor shall have power to decree^ without any legal process, 
the abolition of the Municipal Tribunals." (Article 45.) 

In December, 1896, General Polavieja issued a decree, suspending the elections 
which were to take place that month for one-third of^the municipal electors, and 
directed the Governors of Provinces to send in names of persons suitable for ap- 
pointment, together with the recommendations of the village priest in each case. 

An examination of this unique scheme of village government shows that one-half 
of the electors are to be chosen from persons holding a subordinate office and ap- 
pointed by the Governor; that the village priest must be present at all elections 
and important meetings; that the Captain has all the responsibility, and he must 
also be of the class holding a subordinate office by appointment of the governor; 
that the acts of Municipal Tribunal can be suspended by the Captain and rescinded 
by the Governor; and, finally, if the Municipal Tribunal is offensive to the Governor 
General he can either remove its members and appoint others in their place or can 
abolish it altogether. 

Such is the Spanish idea of self-government; the Minister of the Colonies, in 
submitting the decree to the Queen Eegent, expatiated on its merits in giving the na- 
tives such full control of their local affairs, and expressed the confident belief that 
it would prove "most beneficent to these people whom Providence has Confided to 
the generous sovereignty of the Spanish monarchs." 

This scheme of government by Municipal Tribunals was highly approved by the 
natives, except that feature of it which placed so much power in the hands of the 
Governor and Governor General. This, however, was the essence of the matter, 
from the Spanish standpoint, and these portions of the Decree were the ones most 
fully carried out. The natives complained, on the one hand, of the delay in put- 
ting the Decree into operation, and on the other hand that so much of it as was 
established was practically nullified by the action of the Governors. Seeing that 
the Tribunals had really no power, the members soon turned their sessions (which 
the Decree required to be secret) into political meetings in favor of the insurrec- 
tion. So the whole project is thus far a failure; and the local administration is in 
considerable disorder, apart from that caused by the insurgents. In point of fact self- 
government and representation are unknown in these islands. The Archbishop and 
the four Bishops are appointed by the Pope; the Governor General, military and 
naval officers and all officials with a salary exceeding about $2,000 (silver) are ap- 
pointed by the King or the Minister of the Colonies. Yet all the expenses are 
paid from the Philippine Treasury; the salaries of all officials, military, naval, civil 




BRIGADIER-GENERAL F. V. GREENE. 




1 


'v^^ 


4 


pCiT^ 


If 




''*! 


?^ 




i 


IP; 






^-^g^H 







THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 



119 



;and ecclesiastical^ the expenses and pensions of the army, navy and churchy the 
cost of the diplomatic and consular service in Japan, China and Singapore, even a 
portion of the expenses of the Colonial office, Madrid, and of pensions paid to the 
descendants of Columbus — all come out of the taxes raised in the islands. The 
natives have no place in the government, except clerks in the public offices at 
Manila and the petty positions in the villages and the Ayentamientos of cities, where 
their powers and responsibilities, as we have seen, are at all times limited and 
subject to revocation whenever disapproved by the Governor. 

Though the population of the islands is 40 per cent, of that of Spain, they have no 
representation in the Cortes. 

GEN. GREENE'S HEADQUARTERS AT MANILA. 




There is a widespread report, almost universally believed by native Fihpinos 
and by foreign merchants, and even acknowledged by many Spaniards, that pecu- 
niary dishonesty and corruption exist throughout the whole body of Spanish office- 
holders, from the highest to the lowest. Forced contributions are said to be levied 
on the salaries of minor officials; the Regimental Paymasters and Commissaries are 
said to have sold part of the regimental stores for their own profit, the Collector of 
Customs and the Minister of Finance to have imposed or remitted fines ac the Cui 



120 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 

torn House and Internal Eevenue Office^ according to payment or non-payment of 
presents by merchants, the judges and court officials to have ^^borrowed'' from at- 
torneys large sums which are never paid, and even the Governor General is re- 
ported to have organized a regular system of smuggling in Mexican dollars, the 
importation of which was prohibited by law, on a fixed scale of payment to himself. 
The current report is that Weyler carried away over $1,000,000 as his savings during 
the three years from 1888 to 1891 that he held the office of Governor General, on 
a salary of $40,000 a year. Of the proof of these reports I have naturally no per- 
sonal knowledge, but they are matters of common talk and belief, and they have .been 
stated to me by responsible persons, who have long resided in the islands. 

As above stated, the Governor General is supreme head of every branch of the 
public service, not excepting the Courts of Justice. How this power was exercised is 
shown in the hundreds of executions for alleged political offenses, which took place 
during the years 1895, 1896 and 1897, by the thousands deported to Mindanao and 
Fernando Po, and by the number of political prisoners in jail at the time of our 
entry into Manila. On the first examination which General McArthur, as Military 
Governor, made of the jail, about August 22nd, he released over 60 prisoners con- 
fined for alleged political offenses. One of them was a woman who had been impris- 
oned for eleven years, by order of the Governor General, but without any charges 
■ ever having been presented against her; another was a woman who had been in jail 
for three years on a vague charge, never formulated, of having carried a basket of 
cartridges to an insurgent. 

The day of reckoning for three centuries of this sort of government came whett 
Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish squadron on May 1st, 1898. An insur- 
rection had been in progress from August, 1896, to December, 1897. Unable to sup- 
press it the Government had made a written treaty with the insurgent leaders, pay- 
ing them a large sum of money and promising to introduce various reforms on con- 
dition that they would leave the country. Hardly had the Spanish officials recov- 
ered from this when the appalling disaster of the destruction of their fleet occurred 
under their very eyes. 

Then followed in rapid succession the naval blockade, the arrival of the insurgent 
leaders from Hongkong, the raising of the insurgent army, which blockaded jlanila 
on the land side, and finally, the American troops. At the end of 10-1 days after the 
destruction of the Spanish fleet, the city surrendered to a comjbined land and naval 
attack of the American forces. On the day after the capitulation, the American 
Commander in Chief issued his proclamation establishing a military government, ap- 
pointed a Military Governor, a Minister of Finance, a Collector of Customs, Col- 



THE PHILIPPIXE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 121 

lector of Internal Eevenue, Postmaster and Judge of the Provost Court; took pos- 
session of all public funds (about $900^000)^ and all public offices, and as rapidly 
as possible put this government in operation. 

The machinery of the Spanish Government was thoroughly disorganized wlien 
we entered Manila. The Courts of Justice, except the inferior criminal courts, had 
not been in session since early in May; the officials had been cut off from commu- 
nication with the other islands and with Spain for over three months; there had 
been no customs to collect, and, owing to the entire suspension of business, but 
little internal revenue; a forced loan of $2,000,000 for military purpose had been ex- 
tracted from the Spanish-Philippine Bank, and yet the troops were several months 
in arrears of pay; all government offices outside the walled city had been moved to 
temporary quarters within the walls and their records had been lost or thrown into 
confusion; the officials seeing the inevitable end in sight, were intent only on plan- 
ning for their return to Spain. 

This disorganization was completed when the American Military officers took 
charge of the Government, and every Spanish official, without exception, refused 
absolutely to continue in service. They were immediately dismissed and dispersed. 

The situation thus created is without precedent in American history. When 
Scott captured the City of Mexico it was acknowledged on both sides that his occu- 
pation was only to be temporar}^, and there were no insurgents to deal with. When 
the Americans entered California they found only a scanty population, who were 
soon outnumbered by the American immigrants. But in the Philippine Islands 
there is a population of more than 7,000,000, governed by an alien race, whose rep- 
resentatives present in the Islands, including military and naval forces, clergy and 
civil employes do not exceed 30,000 in number. Against this Government an 
insurrection is in progress, which claims to have been successful in piovinces con- 
taining a population of about 2,000,000. The city and province of Manila, with 
a population of 400,000 more, have been captured and occupied by a foreign army, 
but whether its occupation is to be temporary or permanent has not yet been decided. 

Finally, the Government officials of all classes refuse to perform their functions; 
the desire of most of them is to escape to Spain. It was stipulated in the capitula- 
tion that they should have the right to do so at their own expense, and numbers of 
them, as well as friars, have already taken their departure. The Spanish officials 
have intense fear of the Insurgents; and the latter hate them, as well as the friars, 
with a virulence that can hardly be described. They liave fought tliem witli suc- 
cess, and almost without interruption for two years, and they will continue to light 
them with increased vigor and still greated prospects of success, if any attempt is 



122 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AKE. 




THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 123 

made to restore the Spanish Government. In its present disorganized condition 
the Spanish Government could not successfully cope with them; on the other hand, 
it would not surrender to them. The result, therefore, of an attempted restoration 
of Spanish power in any of the islands would simply be civil war and anarchy, lead- 
ing inevitably and speedily to intervention by foreign nations whose subjects have 
property in the islands which they would not allow to be destroyed. 

INSITEGENT TKOOPS. 

It is very difficult to give figures for the exact numbers of insurgent troops. In 
his message to foreign governments of August 6th, asking for recognition of belliger- 
ency and independence, Aguinaldo claims to have a force of 30,000 men, organized 
into a regular army. This included the force in the provinces of Luzon outside of 
Manila. What was in evidence around Manila varied from 10,000 to 15,000. They 
were composed of young men and bo3's, some as young as fifteen years of age, re- 
cruited in the rural districts, having no property and nothing to lose in a civil war. 
They have received no pay and, although Aguinaldo speaks in his proclamation of 
his intention and ability to maintain order wherever his forces penetrate, yet the 
feeling is practically universal among the rank and file that they are to be com- 
pensated for their time and services and hardships by looting Manila. 

Their equipment consists of a gun, bayonet and cartridge box; their uniform of a 
straw hat, gingham shirt and trousers and bare feet; their transportation of a few 
ponies and carts, impressed for a day or week at a time; for quarters they have taken 
the public building in each village or pueblo, locally known as the Tribunal, and 
the churches and convents; from these details are sent out to man the trenches. 
Their food while on duty consists of rice and banana leaves, cooked at the quarters 
and sent oat to the trenches. After a few days or a week of active service they return 
to their homes to feed up or work on their farms, their places being taken by others 
to whom they turn over their guns and cartridges. Their arms have been ob- 
tained from various sources, from purchases in Hongkong, from the supply which 
Admiral Dewey found in the arsenal at Cavite, from capture made from the Span- 
iards. They are partly Mausers and partly Kemingtons. Their ammunition was 
obtained in the same way. They have used it freely and the supply is now rather 
short. To replenish it they have established a cartridge factory at the village of 
Imus, about ten miles south of Cavite, where they have 400 people engaged in 
re-loading cartridges with powder and lead found at Cavite, or purchased abroad. 
They have no artillery, except a few antique Columbiads obtained from Cavite, and 
no cavalry. Their method of warfare is to dig a trench in front of the Spanish 
position, cover it with mats as a protection against the sun and rain, and during 



124 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 

the night put their guns on top of the trench above their heads and fire in the gen- 
eral direction of the enemy. When their ammunition is exhausted they go off in a 
body to get a fresh supply in baskets and then return to the trenches. 

The men are of small stature^ from 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches in height, and weigh 
from 110 to 130 pounds. Compared with them our men from Colorado and Cali- 
fornia seemed like a race of giants. One afternoon just after we entered Manila a 
battalion of the insurgents fired upon the outposts of the Colorado regiment, mis- 
taking them, as they claimed, for Spaniards. The outpost retreated to their support, 
and the Filipinos followed; they easily fell into an ambush and the support, number- 
ing about fifty me^i, surrounded the 250 Filipinos, wrenched the guns out of their 
hands and marched them off as unarmed prisoners — all in the space of a few min- 
utes. Such a force can hardly be called an arm}-, and yet the service which it has 
rendered should not be underestim-ated. Between 2,000 and 3,000 Spanish native 
troops surrendered to it during the months of June and July. It constantly annoyed 
and harrassed the Spaniards in the trenches, keeping them up at night and wearing 
them out with fatigue; and it invested Manila early in July so completely that all 
supplies were cut off and the inhabitants as well as the Spanish troops were forced 
to live on horse and buffalo meat, and the Chinese population on cats and dogs. It 
captured. the water works of Manila and cut off the water supply, and, if it had been 
in the dry season, would have inflicted great suffering on the inhabitants for lack of 
water. These results, it is true, were obtained against a dispirited arni}^, containing 
a considerable number of native troops of doubtful loyalty. Yet, from August, 1896, 
to April, 1897, they fought 25,000 of the best regular troops sent out from Spain, 
inflicting on them a loss of over 150 officers and 2,500 men, killed and wounded, 
and they suffered still greater losses themselves. Nevertheless, from daily contact 
with them for six weeks, I am very confident that no such results could have been 
obtained against an American arni)^, which would have driven them back to the 
hills and reduced them to a petty guerilla warfare. If they attack the American 
army this will certainly be the result, and, while these guerilla bands might give 
some trouble so long as their ammunition lasted, yet, with our navy guarding the 
coasts and our army pursuing them on land, it would not be long before they were 
reduced to subjection. 

INSURGENT CIVIL ADMINISTRATION. 

In August, 1896, an insurrection broke out in Cavite, under the leadership of 
Emilio Aguinaldo, and soon spread to other provinces on both sides of Manila. It 
continued with varying successes on both sides, and the trial and execution of 
numerous insurgents, until December, 1897, when the Governor-General, Prime de 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLAXDS AS THEY ARE. 125 

liivera, entered into written agreement with Aguinaldo, the substance of the docu- 
ment^ which is in possession of Senor Fehpe Agoncillo^ who accompanies me to 
Washington^ being attached hereto and marked "A." In brief, it required that 
Aguinaldo and the other insurgent leaders should leave the country, the Government 
agreeing to pay them $800,000 in silver, and promising to introduce numerous 
Teforms, including representation in the Spanish Cortes, freedom of the press, 
amnesty for all insurgents, and the expulsion of secularization of the monastic 
orders. Aguinaldo and his associates went to Hongkong and Singapore. A portion 
of the money, $400,000, was deposited in banks at Hongkong, and a lawsuit soon 
arose between Aguinaldo and one of his subordinate chiefs, named Artacho, which is 
interesting on account of the very honorable position taken by Aguinaldo. Artacho 
sued for a division of the money among the insurgents, according to rank. Aguin- 
aldo claimed that the money was a trust fund and was to remain on deposit until it 
was seen whether the Spaniards would carry out their promised reforms, and if they 
failed to do so it was to be used to defray the expenses of a new insurrection. The 
suit was settled out of court b} paying Artacho $5,000. 

Xo steps have been taken to introduce the reforms, more than 2,000 insurgents 
who had been deported to Fernando Po and other places are still in confinement, and 
Aguinaldo is now using the money to carry on the operations of the present insur- 
rection. 

On the 2-J:th day of April Aguinaldo met the United States Consul and others 
3.1 Singapore and offered to begin a new insurrection in conjunction with the opera- 
tions of the United States navy at Manila. This was telegraphed to Admiral Dewey 
and, by his consent, or, at his request, Aguinaldo left Singapore for Hongkong on 
April 26th, and, when the McCullough went to Hongkong early in May to carry the 
news of Admiral Dewey's victory, it took Aguinaldo and seventeen other revolu- 
tionary chiefs on board and brought them to Manila Bay. They soon after landed at 
Cavite, and the Admiral allowed them to take such gttns, ammunition and stores as 
he did not require for himself. With these and some other arms which he had 
brought from Hongkong Aguinaldo armed his followers, who rapidly assembled at 
Cavite and, in a few weeks, he began moving against the Spaniards. Part of them 
surrendered, giving him more arms, and the others retreated to Manila. 

Soon afterwards two ships, which were the private property of Senor Agoncillo 
and other insurgent sympathizers, were converted into cruisers and sent with insur- 
gent troops to Subig Bay and other places, to capture provinces outside of Manila. 
They were very successful, the native militia in Spanish service capitulating with 
their arms in nearly every case without serious resistance. On the 18th of June 



126 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 

Aguinaldo issued a proclamation from Cavite establishing a Dictatorial Government^ 
with himself as Dictator. In each village or pueblo a Chief (Jefe) was to be elected^ 
and in each ward a Nendrum (Cabeza); also in each pueblo three delegates, one of 
Police, one of Justice, and one of Taxes. These were to constitute the J-unta, or 
Assembly, and after consulting the Junta the' Chiefs of pueblos were to elect a Chief 
of Province and three Counsellors, one of Police, one of Justice, and one of Taxes.' 
They were also to elect one or more Eepresentatives from each Pro\dnce to form the 
Eevolutionary Congress. This was follow^ed on June 20th by a decree giving more 
detailed instructions in regard to the elections. On June 23d another decree fol- 
lowed, changing the title of the Government from Dictatorial to Revolutionary, 
and of the chief officer from Dictator to President; announcing a Cabinet with a 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marine and Commerce, another of War and Public 
Works, another of Police and Internal Order, eTustice, Instruction and Hygiene, and 
another of Taxes, Agriculture and Manufactures; the powers of the President and 
Congress were defined, and a code of military justice was formulated. On the same 
date a manifesto was issued to the world explaining the reasons and purposes of 
ihe Revolution. On June 27th another decree was issued containing instructions in 
regard to elections. On August 6th an address was issued to Foreign Governments, 
stating that the Revolutionary Government was in operation and control in fifteen 
Provinces, and that in response to the petition of the duly elected Chiefs of these 
Provinces an appeal is made for recognition of belligerency and independence. 
Translations of these various documents are all apended, marked "B," "C,'' "D," 
"E," "F," "G'^ and "H.'*' 

The scheme of Government is set forth in the decree of June 23d, marked "D.'^ 
An examination of this document shows that it provides a Dictatorship of the 
familiar South American type. All power is centered in the President, and he is 
not responsible to any one for his acts. He is declared to be ^^the personification of 
the Phihppine public, and in this view cannot be held responsible while he holds 
office. His term will last until the Revolution triumphs.'^ He appoints not only the 
heads of the departments, but all their subordinates, and without reference to Con- 
gress. This body is composed of a single Chamber of Representatives from each 
Province. The election is to be conducted by an agent of the President, and the 
qualifications of electors are "those inhabitants most distinsrui-^iied for high character, 
social position and honorable conduct." 

If any Province is still under Spanish rule its Representative is to be appointed 
by the President. Conofress is to deliberate on "all grave and transcendental ques- 
tions, whose decision admits of delay and adjournment, but the President may 



THE PHILIPPI^T: ISLAis^DS AS THEY ARE. 



12? 




128 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 

decide questions of urgent character, giving the reasons for his decision in a message 
to Congress/' The acts of Congress are not binding until approved by the President, 
and he has power of absohite veto. 

Congress was to hold its first session at Saloles about September 28th. 

While this scheme of Government is a pure despotism, yet it claims to be only 
temporary, and intended to "prepare the country so that a true Repubhc may be 
established." It also provides a rude form of governmental machinery for managing 
the affairs of the Provinces. To what extent it has actually gone into operation it is 
difficult to say. ilguinaldo claims, in his address of August 6th, that it is in force in 
fifteen Provinces, whose aggregate population is about 2,000,000. They include the 
island of Mindoro and about half of Luzon. None of those (except Cavite) have yet 
been visited by Americans, and all communication with them by the Spanish Gov- 
ernment at Manila has been cut off since May 1st. 

In the province of Cavite and that portion of the Province of Manila outside of 
the city and of its suburbs, which was occupied by the insurgent troops as well as 
those of the United States, their military forces, military headquarters, etc., were 
very much in evidence, occupying the principal houses and churches in every village 
and hamlet, but there were no signs of Civil Government or administration. It was 
reported, however, that Aguinaldo's agents were levying taxes or forced contributions 
not only in the outside villages, but (after we entered Manila) by means of secret 
agents, in the market places of the city itself. At Aguinaldo's headquarters, in 
Bacoor, there were signs of activity and business, and it was reported that his Cabi- 
net officers were in constant session there. 

Aguinaldo never himself failed to claim all the prerogatives due to his alleged 
position as the de facto ruler of the country. The only general officer who saw him 
or had any direct communication with him was General. Anderson. He did much 
to thwart this officer in organizing a native wagon train and otherwise providing for 
liis troops, and he went so far, in a letter of July 23d (copy herewith marked ''J'O, 
as to warn General Anderson not to land American troops on Phihppine soil without 
his consent — a notice which, it is hardly necessary to say, was ignored. The day 
before the attack on Manila he sent staff officers to the same General, asking for our 
plans of attack, so that their troops could enter Manila with us. The same request 
had previously been made to me by one of his Brigade Commanders, to which I 
replied that I was not authorized to give the information desired. 

Aguinaldo did not call upon General Merritt on his arrival, and this enabled the 
latter to avoid any communication with him, either direct or indirect, until after 
Manila had been taken. General Merritt then received one of Aguinaldo's staff 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY AEE. 129 

officers in his office as Military Governor. The interview lasted more than an hour. 
General Merritt referred to his proclamation as showing the conditions under which 
the American troops had come to Manila and the nature of the Military Government, 
which would be maintained until further orders from Washington. He agreed upon 
the lines outside of the city of Manila, up to which the insurgent troops could come, 
but no further with arms in their hands. He asked for possession of the water works, 
which was given, and, while expressing our friendship and sympathy for the Philip- 
pine people, he stated very positively that the United States Government had placed 
at his disposal an ample force for carrying out his instructions, and even if the 
services of Aguinaldo's forces had been needed as alhes he should not have felt at 
liberty to accept them. 

The problem of how to deal with Aguinaldo's Government and troops will nec- 
essarily be accompanied with embarrassment and difficulty, and will require much 
tact and skill in its solution. The United States Government, through its Xaval 
Commander, has, to some extent, made use of them for a distinct military purpose, 
viz.: to harass and annoy the Spanish troops, to wear them out in the trenches, to 
blockade Manila on the land side, and to do as much damage as possible to the 
Spanish Government prior to the arrival of our troops, and for this purpose the 
Admiral allowed them to take the arms and munitions which he had captured at 
Cavite, and their ships to pass in and out of Manila Bay in their expeditions against 
other Provinces. But the Admiral has been very careful to give Aguinaldo no 
assurances of recognition and no pledges or promises of any description. The services 
which Aguinaldo and his adherents rendered in preparing the way for attack on 
Manila are certainly entitled to consideration, but, after all, they were small in com- 
parison with what was done by our fleet and army. 

There is no reason to believe that Aguinaldo's Government has any elements of 
stability. In the first place, Aguinaldo is a young man of twenty-three years. Prior 
to the insurrection of 1896 he had been a schoolmaster, and afterward Goberna- 
doreillo and Municipal Captain in one of the pueblos in the Province of Cavite. He 
is not devoid of ability, and he is surrounded by clever writers. But the educated 
and intelligent Fihpinos of Manila say that not only is he lacking in ability to be at 
the head of affairs, but if an election for President was held he would not even be 
a candidate. He is a successful leader of insurgents, has the confidence of young 
men in the country districts, prides himself on his military ability, and if a Eepublic 
could be established the post he would probably choose for himself would be General- 
in-Chief of the Army. 

In the next place, Aguinaldo's Government, or any entirely independent Govern- 



130 THE PIiILIPPIXE ISLANDS AS TIIEY ARE. 

ment, does not command the hearty support of the large body of Filipinos, both in 
Manila and outside, who have property, education and intelligence. Their hatred of 
the Spanish rule is very keen and they will co-operate with Aguinaldo or any one 
else to destroy it. But after that is done they fully realize that they must have 
the support of some strong nation for many years before they will be in a position to 
manage their own affairs alone. The nation to which they all turn is America, and 
their ideal is a Philippine Republic, under American protection — such as they 
have heard is to be granted to Cuba. But when it comes to defining their ideas of 
protection and the respective rights and duties of each under it, what portion of the 
Government is to be administered by them and what portion by us; how the revenues 
are to be collected, and in what proportion the expenses are to be divided; they 
have no clear ideas at all; nor is it expected that they should have, after generations 
of Spanish rule without any experience in self government. The sentiment of this 
class, the educated native with property at stake, looks upon the prospect of Aguin- 
aldo's Government and forces entering Manila with almost as much dread as the 
foreign merchants or the Spaniards themselves. 

Einally, it must be remembered that this is purely a Tagalo insurrection. There 
are upwards of thirty races in the Philippines, each speaking a different dialect, 
but five-sixths of the entire Christian population is composed of the Tagalos and 
Visayas. The former live in Mindoro and the southern half of Luzon, and the latter 
in Cebu, Iloilo and other islands in the center of the group. The Tagalos are more 
numerous than the Visayas, but both races are about equal in civilization, intelli- 
gence and wealth. It is claimed by Aguinaldo's partisans that the Yisayas are in 
sympathy with his insurrection and intend to send representatives to the congress. 
But it is a fact that the Visayas have taken no active part in the present insurrec- 
tion nor in that of 1896, that the Spanish Government is still in full control at 
Cebu and Iloilo, and in the Viscayas islands, and that Aguinaldo has as yet made no 
effort to attack them. The Visayas number nearly 2,000,000, or about as many 
as the population of all the Tagalo Provinces, which Aguinaldo claims to have cap- 
tured. There is no evidence to show that they will support his pretensions, and 
many reasons to believe that on account of racial prejudices and jealousies and other 
causes they will oppose him. 

Upon one point all are agreed, except possibly Aguinaldo and his immediate ad- 
herents, and that is that no native government can maintain itself without the active 
support and protection of a strong foreign government. This being admitted it is 
difficult to see how any foreign government can give this protection without taking 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 131 

such an active part in tlie management of affairs as is practically equivalent to 
governing in its own name and for its own account. 

EXITED STATES TROOPS AND NAVY. 

I assume that the reports received at the War and Navy Departments give all 
the desired information in regard to the military forces of the United States. 

At the time I left (August 30th) the Eighth Corps consisted of two divisions, 
numbering in all about 12,000 men, with 16 field guns and 6 mountain guns. No 
wagons or animals had tlien arrived. 

One regiment was stationed within the walled city guarding its gates, and the 
captured guns and ammunition; a small force was at Cavite, and the bulk of the 
troops were in Manila, outside of the walled city. They were quartered in the Span- 
ish barracks, which were all in good condition, and in convents and private houses. 
The health of the troops was excellent, notwithstanding the extraordinary hardships 
to which they had been subjected in the trenches before entering Manila. 

Admiral Dewey had under his command the Charleston, Monterey and Monad- 
nock, which arrived in July and August, the Callao and Leyte, which had been 
captured from the Spaniards, and the ships which were in the battle of May 1st, 
viz: Olympia, Boston, Baltimore, Raleigh, Concord, Petrel and McCullough. The 
health of the squadron was excellent. The Olympia and Concord were being docked 
and cleaned at Hongkong. Permission to use the docks at Nagansaki during the 
suspension of hostilities had been declined. 

UNITED STATES CIVIL ADMINISTRATION. 

"We entered Manila on the afternoon of August 13th. On the 14th the capitula- 
tion was signed, and the same day General Merritt issued his proclamation estab- 
lishing a Military Government. On the 15th General Mc Arthur was appointed 
Military Commander of the walled city and Provost Marshal General of the City of 
Manila and its suburbs, and on the 17th I was appointed to take charge of the 
duties performed by the intendente General de Hacienda, or Minister of Finance, and 
all fiscal affairs. Representatives of the Postofhce Department had arrived on the 
Steamship China in July and they immediately took charge of the Manila Post- 
office, which was opened for business on the 16th. The Custom House was opened 
on the 18th, with Lieutenant-Colonel Whittier as Collector, and the Internal Rev- 
enue office, with Major Bement as Collector on the 22nd. Captain Glass of the 
Navy was appointed Captain of the Port, or Naval Officer, and took cliarge of 
the office on August 19th. The collections of customs during the first ten days 



132 THE PHILIPPINE ISLxiXDS AS THEY AEE. 

exceeded $100^000. The collection of internal revenne was small owing to the 
difficulty and delay in ascertaining what persons had or had not paid their taxes 
for the current year. The administration of Water Works was put in charge of 
Lieutenant Connor, of the Engineers, on August 25th, the Provost Court with Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Jewett, Judge Advocate United States Volunteers, sitting as Judge, 
was appointed and held its first session on August 23rd. 

The Provost Marshal General has charge of the Police, Fire, Health and Street 
Cleaning Departments, and the issuing of licenses. The Guardia Civil, or Gendar- 
merie of the Cit}^, proving indifferent and inefficient, they were disarmed and dis- 
banded; the 13th Minnesota regiment was detailed for police duty, and one or more 
companies stationed in each Police Station, from vv^hich patrolmen, were sent out 
on the streets to take the place of the sentries who had constantly patrolled them 
from the hour of entering the city. 

The shops were all closed when we entered on Saturday afternoon, the 13th; on 
Monday some of them opened, and by Wednesday the Banks had resumed business^ 
the newspapers were published, and the merchants were ready to declare goods at 
the Custom House, the tram cars were running and the retail shops were all open 
and doing a large business. There was no disorder or pillage of any kind in the 
city. The conduct of the troops was simply admirable, and left no ground for 
criticism. It was noted and commented upon by the foreign naval officers in the 
most favorable terms, and it so surprised the Spanish soldiers that a considerable 
number of them applied for permission to enlist in our service. 

At the time I left General McArthur fully established his office as Provost 
Marshal General, and was organizing one by one the various bureaus connected with 
it, all with United States military officers in charge; the Provost Court was in daily 
session, sentencing gamblers and persons guilty of petty disturbances, and a mili- 
tary commission had just been ordered to try a Chinaman accused of burglary. 

In various pubhc offices I collected the following Spanish funds: 

At the General Treasury $795,517.71 

At the Mint. . " 62,856.08 

At the Internal Revenue Office . 24,077.60 . 

$882,451.39 
Of this amount there was in 

Gold Coin $ 4,200.00 

Gold Bars,. • . 3,806.08 

Silver Coin 190,634.81 

Copper Coin 297,300.00 

Spanish Bank Notes 216,305.00 

Accepted Checks 170,205.50 



.^r^ ■ 



)00-C,^0l.O^ 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 133 

The money was counted by a board of officers and turned over to Major C. H. 
Whipple/ Paymaster L^ S. A., as custodian of Spanish Public Funds. A few thou- 
sand dollars in other public offices were still to be collected. 

The money received at the Custom House and other offices is turned in daily,, 
at the close of business^ to Major Whipple. Money for current expenses is furnished 
to heads of departments on their requisition, by warrant drawn by the Intendente 
General on the Custodian of Spanish Pubhc Funds. The heads of the departments 
are to submit their vouchers and accounts monthly to an auditing department, v\-hich 
was being organized when I left. 

All these public offices and funds were surrendered to me only on threat of 
using force and on granting permission to file a formal written protest. None of 
these had been received at the time I left, but the ground of verbal protest was 
that the officials recognized no authority in these islands but the Governor General 
appointed by the King of Spain, and without his order they w^re unwilling to sur- 
render them. On the other hand, I recognized no authority of the Spanish Gov- 
ernor General who was merely a prisoner of war; I acted under the orders of Gen- 
eral Merritt as the United States Military Governor, and in accordance with the 
terms of capitulation. The claim will probably be made by the Spanish officials that 
as we captured Manila a few hours after the peace protocol had been signed at 
Washington, this property still belongs to the Spaniards. But I believe that the 
law in such cases was clearly defined in decisions made by the United States Su- 
preme Court in 1815. We captured Manila, and the capitulation (under which 
these funds became United States property) was signed by both parties, before either 
had received any notice of the protocol of suspension of hostilities. 

On the opening of the Custom House several important questions arose for im- 
mediate decision. The first was in regard to Mexican dollars. The importation of 
these has for several years been prohibited, with a view of forcing the Spanish coin- 
age (which contains less silver) into circulation. The large English banks repre- 
sented that there was a scarcity of currency, owing to the amount which had been 
hoarded and sent away during the seige, and they agreed in consideration of being 
allowed to import Mexican dollars free of duty, to guarantee the notes and accepted 
checks of the Spanish bank, which should be received by us in payment of customs 
up to $200,000 at any one time. The Spanish bank was in difficulty, owing to the 
enormous amount which the Government had taken from it under the form of a 
forced loan, and any discrimination on our part against it would result in its failure,. 



134 THE PHILIPPIXE ISLAXDS AS THEY ARE. 

entailing widespread financial disturbance. As there seemed no reason against al- 
lowing the importation of Mexican dollars and many in favor of it, I recommended 
that the Custom House continue to receive the notes and checks of this bank in 
payment of customs (for which we were amply protected by the guarantee of the 
strong English banks) and with General Merritt's approval wrote to these banks au- 
thorizing them to import Mexican dollars free of duty until further notice. 

The next question was in regard to the rate of duties on imports and exports. 
After a careful consideration of the matter, I recommended that the tariff be not 
changed until the question had been fully studied and ample notice given. Gen- 
eral Merritt approved this and the customs are being collected on the Spanish tariff. 

About a week after the Custom House was opened certain parties came to me 
representing that Consul General Wildman, of Hongkong, had informed them 
that United States goods would be admitted free of duty in Manila, that acting on 
this they had purchased a cargo of American illuminating oil in Hongkong, and 
that the payment of the heavy duty on it ($30 per ton, or about 8c per gallon) 
would ruin them. On. consulting Lieutenant Colonel Crowder, Judge Advocate af 
the Eighth Army Corps, he pointed out the language of paragraph 5 of General 
Merritt's proclamation, which followed literally the instructions of the President, 
viz: "The Port of Manila will be open while our military occupation may continue, 
to the commerce of all neutral nations as well as our own, in articles not contra- 
band of war, and upon payment of the prescribed rates of duty which may be in 
force at the time of the importation.'- 

Under this there was clearly no authority for discriminating in favor of American 
goods, either coming direct from a United States Port or by transshipment at Hong- 
kong. 

The Collector of Customs was directed to act accordingly. 

Another question was in regard to the importation of Chinamen into Manila. The 
Consul at Hongkong telegraphed to know if they would be admitted. As there 
had been no time for examining the treaties and laws in force on this subject, I 
replied with General Merritt's approval that for the present it was not practicable to 
admit Chinese laborers into Manila. 

Another very important question which arose was in regard to trade with the 
^other Philippine islands. Xearl} all the hemp and the greater part of the sugar 



1 




i 




1 


, V:i:- 


1 


S: -# 


1 


■' . .;.- 


























|-:-N;:. .v;n;^,-;. 






■•1 




- ' " 






1 1 . :-,,.. 


/ 


] 






^' ^'-'X^^^ 


,_? ' ; 


. -«Jis.'' 




F 


m 


^^C> 






,- ] r- n 


i " v^'^C 






1' 


..i.-^-^ :-^- . 






1 








1 .^ > -^ I 


;;i- 






, 




>0< 




. 


" 


m 






• - . . 


ip4 




'. 




J ^ 




\ ^ 




- - — 

I - 5 


^ 


' 




Hi. cr? 


•— t 


^ 


; 


inM*^ 


H ^2 


- : '. '- 




■^ ; ~ :^ : 


X 


■ 


r 


i : - i 


" -< 






nr ^ 


<c- 






'H m 


^ 






3 ^ 


t' 






CSS 




: 
1 




m 





WAR DEPARTMENT, 



AaHJTANT BENERAL's OFFICE . MIUTARY INFORMATION DIVISION. 1 



H ^ H I V I) E M \ \ I L A 





















^i^!4 ' t^ C-/ ./! 





















'^i,^iS"^ 



^.^.iV 






# " 






;^ 



OFFICIA.L MAP BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT OF THE SEAT OF WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. 135 

is grown in the Visayas. The hemp is bought by foreign merchants in Manihi, who 
bring it there from the other islands^ and export it, paying large duties to the Manila 
Custom House. These merchants were anxious to bring up their stock, of wliich 
a large amount liad accumulated during the war, and ship it abroad. The ships en- 
gaged in tliis island trade were idle in the Pasig. They belonged to a Spanish 
corporation, owned entirely by Scotch capital, and had a Spanish Register. The 
owners were ready to transfer them to the American flag. Could these vessels be 
allowed to clear for the ports of Cebu and Iloio, which were in Spanish possession? 
The Judge Advocate advised me that they could not, without the express authority 
of the President. I so notified the owners of the ships and the hemp merchants. 
The day before I left Manila, however. Admiral Dewey received a cable from the 
Navy Department stating that Spanish ships had been granted the privilege of trad- 
ing to American ports during the suspension of hostilities, and that American ships 
could be granted a similar privilege for Spanish ports. I understood that on the 
strength of this cable General Otis intended to allow the United States Consul at 
Manila to grant these vessels an American Register and then allow them to clear 
for the other islands. I do not know what the arrangement, if any was made, in 
regard to the payment of export duties at Uoilo. Clearly the hemp cannot pay 
export duties at both Iloilo and Manila, and the Spaniards are not likely to allow 
it to leave Iloilo free while we collect an export duty on it at Manila. Incidentally, 
this illustrates the complications and loss that will arise if the islands are subdivided. 
The principal merchants for all the islands are at Manila, and 90 per cent, of the 
duties in imports and exports are collected at its Custom House. A large part of 
the imports are redistributed through the islands; and all the hemp and sugar, which 
form the principal exports, come to Manila from other islands. If, then, we re- 
tain Luzon and give the other islands back to Spain or some other nation, that na- 
tion will impose import and export duties on everything coming from or to Manila. 
The foreign trade of that city as a distributing and collecting point for all the islands 
will be lost, and its prosperity will be destroyed; moreover, the Government revenue 
from that trade will be lost. 

In view of the fact that Spanish officials declined to co-operate or assist in any 
way in the American government of Manila, the ease and rapidity with which order 
was maintained, the machinery of government put in operation and business re- 
established, after our entry into Manila is very remarkable. For every position in 
the Government service, legal, administrative, financial, mechanical, clerical, men 
could be found in our volunteer ranks who v.-ere experienced in just that class of 



136 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY APE. 

work at home, and they took charge of their Spanish positions with promptness anO 
confidence. 

Even in the matter of language no serious difficulty was encountered, for no less 
than 30 good interpreters were found in the California and Colorado regimients. 

The Military Government as now organized and administered, fulfills all the re- 
quirements of preserving order and collecting the public revenue. 

The civil courts, however, have yet to be organized, and their organization will 
present many difficulties. 



CHAPTEE X. 

OFFICIAL HISTOHY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 

The Pith of the Official Eeports of the Capture of Manila, by Major-General Wesley 
Merritt, Commanding the Philippine Expedition; General Frank V. Greene^ 
General Arthur McArthur, and General Thomas Anderson, With the Arti- 
cles of Capitulation, Showing How 8,000 Americans Carried an Intrenched 
City With a Garrison of 13,000 Spaniards, and Kept Out 14,000 Insurgents — 
The Difficulties of American Generals With Philippine Troops. 

One of the most interesting events in the records of the fall of cities, that 
carried with them decisive factors affecting nations, is that of the conquest of 
Manila, by the army and navy of the United States in the memorable year of 1898. 
The victory of Admiral George Dewey May 1st, in the bay of Manila, nigh Cavite, 
has been celebrated in every clime and in all languages, and the great story i? 
related in this book as one of universal fame, and given in outline and also in pen 
pictures meant to show the local coloring, and these are incidents most illustrative 
that are not famihar. The names of the ships and the officers of the victorious 
fleet, and the force of the contending squadrons in men and guns are herewith pre- 
sented as an indisputable record. 

Admiral Dewey held on to his command of the bay and city of Manila, braving 
all dangers — and they were many — and as fast as the army could be organized and 
equipped, reinforcements were forwarded. General Wesley Merritt was appointed 
the Commander in Chief of the expedition to the Philippines, and arrived at Cavite, 
July 25th. The official history of the operations that forced the surrender of 
the old Spanish capital in the East Indies has not received the public attention its 
unusual and instructive character demands, beca.use the reports were not received 
in the States and given to the public until the Paris peace commission was assem- 
bling, and this singularly suggestive detail has been almost neglected. It is here 
for the first time consecutively arranged, annotated and adjusted, so as to tell 
the whole story. The part played by the insurgents is one that has not been stated 
by authority and with precision combining narrative form with the internal evidence 
of authenticity. 

The first expeditionary force of the United States to arrive was that of General 
Thomas Anderson, on June 30, sixty days after Dewey's victory. The second ex~ 
peditionary force, under General Frank V. Greene, arrived July 17, and the thirds 

137 



138 



OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 



under General McArthur, July 30th, five days later than General Merritt, wfio 
iound Eear Admiral George Dewey's war ships "anchored in line off Cavite, and just 
■outside of the transports and supply vessels engaged in the military service." He 
was "in full control of the navigation of the bay, and his vessels passed and re- 
passed within range of the water batteries of the town of Manila without drawing 
the fire of the enemy." This immunity of protected ci-uisers from the fire of nine- 
inch Krupp guns with an abundance of ammunition that was, and some that was 




THE SEAT OP WAR IN CAVITE. 

not serviceable, was due to the terrible prestige of the American Admiral and the 
■eonsequent power of his word that if fired upon he would destroy the city. An- 
• derson's Americans were. General Merritt reports, disposed as follows: 

The Second Oregon, detachments of California Heavy Artillery, Twenty-third 
■Infantry, and Fourteenth Infantry occupied the town of Cavite; while Brigadier 
General F. V. Greene, United States Volunteers, was encamped with his brigade, 
consisting of the Eighteenth Infantry, Third United States Artillery, Company A, 
Engineer Battalion, First Colorado, First California, First Nebraska, Tenth Penn- 



OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF Mi^^LA. 139 

sylvania, and Batteries A and B of the Utah Artillery, along the line of the bay shore 
near the village of Paranaqiie, about five miles by water and twenty-five miles by the 
roads from Cavite. 

The Major General commanding visited General Greene's camp and made a re- 
connaissance of the position held by the Spanish, and also the opposing lines of 
the insurgent forces, finding General Greene's command encamped on a strip 
of sandy land running parallel to the shore of the bay and not far distant from the 
beach, but owing to the great difficulties of landing supplies "the greater portion 
of the force had shelter tents only, and were suffering many discomforts, the camp 
being in a low, flat place, without shelter from the heat of the tropical sun or ade- 
quate protection during the terrific downpours of rain so frequent at this season." 
The General commanding was at once struck '"'by the exemplary spirit of patient, 
even cheerful, endurance shown by the officers and men under such circumstances, 
and this feeling of admiration for the manner in which the American soldier, vol- 
unteer and regular alike, accept the necessary hardships of the work they have 
undertaken to do, has grown and increased with every phase of the difficult and try- 
ing campaign which the troops of the Philippine expedition have brought to such 
a brilliant and successful conclusion." 

The left or north flanks of General Green's camp extended to a point on the 
"Calle Eeal," about 3,200 yards from the outer line of Spanish defenses of the city of 
Manila. This Spanish line began at the powder niagazine, or old fort San Antonio, 
within a hundred yards of the beach and just south of the Malate suburb of Manila, 
and stretched away to the Spanish left in more or less detached works, eastward, 
through swamps and rice fields, covering all the avenues of approach to the town 
and encirchng the city completely." 

General Merritt defines with firmness and perspicuity his position regarding the 
Filipinos in these terms: 

''The Filipinos, or insurgent forces at war with Spain, had, prior to the arrival 
of the American land forces, been waging desultory warfare with the Spaniards for 
several months, and were at the time of my arrival in considerable force, variously 
estimated and never accurately ascertained, but probably not far from 1.2,000 men. 
These troops, well supplied with small arms, with plenty of ammunition. and several 
field guns, had obtained positions of investment opposite to the Spanish line of de- 
tached works throughout their entire extent; and on the particular road called the 
"Callc Eeal," passing along the front of General Greene's brigade camp and running 
through Malate to Manila, the insurgents had established an earthwork or trench 
within 800 yards of th? powder-magazine fort. They also occupied as well tlie 



140 OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 

road to the right, leading from the village of Passay, and the approach by the beach 
was also in their possession. This anomalous state of affairs, namely, having a line of 
quasi-hostile native troops between our forces and the Spanish position, was, of 
course, very objectionable, but it was difficult to deal with, owing to the peculiar 
condition of our relations with the insurgents, which may be briefly stated as follows: 

"Shortly after the naval battle of Manila Bay, the principal leader of the in- 
surgents. General Emilio Aguinaldo, came to Cavite from Hongkong, and, with the 
consent of our naval authorities, began active work in raising troops and pushing the 
Spaniards in the direction of the city of Manila. Having met with some success, and 
the natives flocking to his assistance, he proclaimed an independent government 
of republican form, with himself as president, and at the time of my arrival in the 
islands the entire edifice of executive and legislative departments and subdivision 
of territory for administration purposes had been accomplished, at least on paper, and 
the Filipinos held military possession of many points in the islands other than those 
in the vicinity of Manila. 

"As General Aguinaldo did not visit me on my arrival, nor offer his services as 
a subordinate military leader, and as my instructions from the President fully con- 
templated the occupation of the islands by the American land forces, and stated 
that "the powers of the military occupant are absolute and supreme and imme- 
diately operate upon the political condition of the inhabitants," I did not consider 
it wise to hold any direct communication with the insurgent leader until I should 
be in possession of the city of Manila, especially as I would not until then be in 
s position to issue a proclamation and enforce my authority, in the event that his 
pretensions sliould clash with my designs. 

"For these reasons the preparations for the attack on the city were pressed, and 
military operations conducted without reference to the situation of the insurgent 
forces. The wisdom of this course was subsequently fully established by the fact that 
w'hen the troops of my command carried the Spanish intrenchments, extending 
"from the sea to the Pasay road on the extreme Spanish right, we were under no 
obhgations, by prearranged plans of mutual attack, to turn to the right and clear 
the front still held against the insurgents, but were able to move forwar-d at once 
and occupy the city and suburbs." 

General Anderson was the first officer of the American army to arrive, and says 
Admiral Dewey gave him "every possible assistance," and favored him "with a 
clear statement of the situation." On the second day after he appeared at Cavite, 
which was one day after General Merritt's departure from San Francisco, he had 
'%n interview with the insurgent chief, Aguinaldo, and learned from him that the 



OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA 141 

Spanish forces had withdrawn, driven back by his army as he claimed, to a line of 
defense immediately around the city and its suburbs. He estimated the Spanish 
forces at about 14,000 men, and his own at about the same number. He did not 
seem pleased at the incoming of our land forces, hoping, as I beheve, that he could 
take th-^ city with his own arm}^, with the co-operation of the American fleet. 

"Believing that however successful the insurgents may have been in guerilla war- 
fare against the Spaniards, that they could not carry their lines by assault or ^re- 
■ducv? the city by siege, and suspecting, further, that a hearty and effective co-opera- 
tion could not be expected, I had at once a series of reconnaissances made to exactly 
locate the enemy's lines of defense and to ascertain their strength." 

The date of the impression made on General Anderson's mind as to the dis- 
pleasure of Aguinaldo is important. The insurgent chief would have preferred 
the military distinctions to have been reserved for himself. General Anderson says 
of the Spanish attacks on General Greene's lines: 

"These conflicts began on the night of July 31, as soon as the enemy had realized 
that we had taken the places of the Filipinos, and began a system of earthworks to 
the front of their old line. It may have been merely coincident, but these attacks 
and sorties began at the time the Captain General of Manila was relieved by his 
second in command. For more than six weeks the insurgents had kept up a bick- 
ering infantry fire on the Spanish trenches, firing occasionally some old siege pieces 
•captured by Admiral Dewey at Cavite and given to Aguinaldo. These combats were 
never serious, and the Spaniards, so far as I know, made no sorties upon them. 
Eut there is no doubt of the fact that the Spaniards attacked our lines with force 
-and vindictiveness, until they were informed that the bringing on of a general en- 
gagement would lead to a bombardment of the city. After this there was for several 
days a tacit suspension of hostilities." 

As to the situation of General Greene, Brigadier General Merritt says: 

"The difficulty in gaining an avenue of approach to the Spanish line lay in the 
iact of my disinclination to ask General Aguinaldo to withdraw from the beach and 
the 'Calle Real,' so that Greene could move forward. This was overcome by in- 
structions to General Greene to arrange, if possible, with the insurgent brigade com- 
mander in his immediate vicinity to move to the right and allow the American forces 
unobstructed control of the roads in their immediate front. Xo objection was 
made, and accordingly General Greene's brigade threw forward a heavy oiitpost 
line on the "Calle Real" and the beach and constructed a trench, in which a portion 
^of the guns of the Utah batteries was placed. 

'"The Spanish, observing this activity on our part, made a very sharp attack with 



142 



OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MAXiLA. 




OFFICIAL HTSTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 143 

lUiantry and artillery on the night of July 31. ThQ behavior of our troops during 
this night attack was all that could he desired, and I have, in cablegrams to the 
War DeiDartment, taken occasion to commend by name those who deserve special 
mention for good conduct in the affair. Our position was extended and strengthened 
after this and resisted successfully repeated night attacks, our forces suffering, 
however, considerable loss in wounded and killed, while the losses of the enemy, 
owing to the darkness', could not be ascertained. 

"The strain of the night fighting and the heavy details for outpost duty made 
it imperative to re-enforce General G-reene's troops with General MacArthur's brig- 
ade, which had arrived in transports on the 31st of July. The difficulties of this 
operation can hardly be overestimated. The transports were at anchor off Cavite, 
five miles from a point on the beach where it was desired to disembark the men. 
Several squalls, accompanied by floods of rain, raged day after day, and the only 
way to get the troops and supplies ashore was to load them from the ship's side 
into native lighters (called ^cascos') or small steamboats, move them to a point oppo- 
site the camp, and then disembark them through the surf in small boats, or by run- 
ning the lighters head on to the beach. The landing was finally accomplished, after 
days of hard work and hardship; and I desire here to express again my admiration 
for the fortitude and cheerful willingness of the men of all commands engaged in 
this operation. 

"Upon the assembly of MacArthur's brigade in support of Greene's, I had 
about 8,500 men in position to attack, and I deemed the time had come for final 
action. During the time of the night attacks I had communicated my desire to Ad- 
miral Dewey that he would allow his ships to open fire on the right of the Spanish 
line of intrenchments, believing that such action would stop the night firing and loss 
of life, but the Admiral had declined to order it unless we were in danger of losing 
our position by the assaults of the Spanish, for the reason that, in his opinion, it 
would precipitate a general engagement, for which he was not ready. Now, how- 
ever, the brigade of General MacArthur was in position and the Monterey had 
arrived, and under date of August 6 Admiral Dewey agreed to my suggestion that 
we should send a joint letter to the Captain General notifying him that he should 
remove from the city all non-combatants within forty-eight hours." 

The joint note of General Merritt and Admiral Dewey was as follows: 

IIEADQUAETEES U. S. LAND AND NAVAL FORCES, 

Manila Bay, Philippine Islands, August 7, 1898. 
The General in Chief Commanding Spanish Forces in Manila. 

Sir: We have the honor to notify your excellency that operations of the land 



144 OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CO^s^QUEST OF MAOTLA. 

and naval forces of the United States against the defenses of Manila may begin at 
any time after the expiration of forty-eight hours from the hour of receipt by you of 
this communication, or sooner if made necessary by an attack on your part. 

This notice is given in order to afford you an opportunity to remove all non- 
combatants from the city. Very respectfully, 

WESLEY MEEEITT, 
Major-General, United States Army, 
Commanding Land Forces of the United States. 
GEOEGE DEWEY, 
Eear-Admiral, United States Navy, 
Commanding United States Naval Forces on Asiatic Station. 
The notable words in this are those "against the defenses of Manila," instead 
of against the city itself — the usual way — the city was to be spared if possible. 

Manila, August 7, 1898. 
The Governor-General and Captain-General of the Philippines to the Major-General 
of the Army and the Eear Admiral of the Navy, commanding, respectively, the 
Military and Naval Forces of the United States. 

Gentlemen: I have the honor to inform your excellencies that at half -past 12 
to-day I received the notice with which you favor me, that after forty-eight hours 
have elapsed you may begin operations against this fortified city, or at an earlier hour 
if the forces under your command are attacked by mine. 

As your notice is sent for the purpose of providing for the safety of non-com- 
batants, I give thanks to your excellencies for the humane sentiment you have 
shown, and state that, finding myself surrounded by insurrectionary forces, I am 
without places of refuge for the increased numbers of wounded, sick, women, and 
children who are now lodged within the walls. 

Very respectfully, and kissing the hands of your excellencies, 

FOEMIEE JAUDENES, 
Governor-General and Captain-General of the Philippines. 
The second paragraph of the Governor-General and Captain-General's letter indi- 
cates a sense of helplessness, and credits the insurgents with surrounding the city so 
that there was no refuge. August 9th there was a second joint note from Major- 
General Merritt and Eear Admiral Dewey, in the terms following: 
"The Governor-General and Captain-General of the Philippines. 

"Sir: The inevitable suffering in store for the wounded, sick, women, and 
children, in the event that it becomes our duty to reduce the defenses of the walled 
town in which they are gathered, will, we feel assured, appeal successfully to the 



OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 145 

sympathies of a general capable of making the determined and prolonged resistance 
which your excellency has exhibited after the loss of your naval forces and without 
hope of succor. 

"We therefore, submit, without prejudice to the high sentiments of honor and 
duty which your excellency entertains, that surrounded on every side as you are by 
a constantly increasing force, with a powerful fleet in your front and deprived of all 
prospect of reinforcement and assistance, a most useless sacrifice of life would result 
in the event of an attack, and therefore every consideration of humanity makes it 
imperative that you should not subject your city to the horrors of a bombardment. 
Accordingly, we demand the surrender of the city of Manila and the Spanish forces 
under your command." 

The Captain-General wanted time to hear from Madrid, and was refused. 

The language of General Greene, in stating the fact that he took possession of 
the intrenchmenls of the insurgents, is in these words: 

"On the morning of July 29, in compliance with verbal instructions received the 
previous day from the Adjutant-General of the Eighth Army Corps, I occupied the 
insurgent trenches, from the beach to the Calle Real, with one battalion Eighteenth 
United States Infantry, one battalion First Colorado Infantry, and four guns — 
two from each of the Utah batteries — these trenches being vacated at my request 
by the insurgent forces under Brigadier-General Noriel. As these trenches were 
badly located and insufficient in size and strength, I ordered another line constructed 
about 100 yards in advance of them, and this work was completed, mainly by the 
First Colorado, during the night of July 29-30. The length of this line was only 
2 TO yards, and on its right were a few barricades, not continuous, occupied by the 
insurgents, extending over to the large rice swamp, just east of the road from Pasay 
to Paco (shown on the accompanying map). Facing these was a strong Spanish 
line, consisting of a stone fort, San Antonio de Abad, near the beach, intrenchments 
of sandbags and earth about seven feet high and 10 feet thick, extending in a curved 
direction for about 1,200 yards and terminating in a fortified blockhouse, known 
as No 14, beyond our right on the Pasay road. It faced our front and enveloped our 
right flank." 

General Greene, reporting the fighting on his front, says of the Spanish position 
and first attack. 

Mounted in and near the stone fort were seven guns in all, viz., three bronze field 
guns of 3.6 inches caliber, four bronze mountain guns of 3,2 inches caliber, and in the 
vicinity of Blockhouse No. 14 were two steel mountain guns of 3.2 inches caliber. 



146 OFFICIAL HISTOKY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 




OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 14Y 

The line was manned throughout its length by infantry, with strong reserves at 
Malate and at the walled city in its rear. 

Shortly before midnight of July Sl-iVugust 1 the Spaniards opened a heavy and 
continuous fire with both artillery and infantry from their entire line. Our trenches 
were occupied that day by the two battahons of the Tenth Pennsylvania Infantry, 
one foot battery (H), nearly 200 strong, of the Third Artillery, and four guns, two 
of Battery A and two of Battery B, Utah Artillery. For about an hour and a half 
the firing on both sides, with artillery and infantry, was very heavy and continuous, 
our expenditure of ammunition being IGO rounds of artillery and about 60,000 
rounds of infantry. That of the Spaniards was nearly twice as much. 
The American loss was ten killed and forty-three wounded. 

General Greene says: "Major Cuthbertson, Tenth Pennsylvania, reports that 
the Spaniards left their trenches in force and attempted to turn our right flank, 
coming within 200 yards of his position. But as the night was intensely dark, with 
incessant and heavy rain, and as no dead or wounded were found in front of his 
position at daylight, it is possible that he was mistaken and that the heavy fire to 
which he was subjected came from the trenches near Block House 14, beyond his 
right flank, at a distance of about 700 yards. The Spaniards used smokeless powder, 
the thickets obscured the flash of their guns, and the sound of the Mauser bullets 
penetrating a bamboo pole is very similar to the crack of the rifle itself. 

"This attack demonstrated the immediate necessity of extending our intrench- 
ments to the right and, although not covered by my instructions (which were to 
occupy the trenches from the bay to Calle Eeal, and to avoid precipitating an en- 
gagement), I ordered the First Colorado and one battalion of the First California, 
which occupied the trenches at 9 a. m., August 1, to extend the line of trenches to 
the Pasay road. The work was begun by these troops, and continued every day 
by the troops occupying the trenches in turn, until a strong line was completed by 
August 12, about 1,200 yards in length, extending from the bay to the east side of 
the Pasay road. Its left rested on the bay and its right on an extensive rice swamp, 
practically impassible. The right flank was refused, because the only way to cross 
a smaller rice swamp, crossing the line about 700 yards from the beach, was along 
a cross-road in rear of the general line. As finally completed the works were very 
strong in profile, being five to six feet in height and eight to ten feet in thickness at 
the base, strengthened by bags filled with earth. 

"The only material available was black soil. saturated with water, and without the 
bags this was washed down and ruined in a day by the heavy and almost incessant 
rains. The construction of these trenches was constantly interrupted by the enemy's 



148 OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 

fire. They were occupied by tlie troops in succession, four battalions being usually 
sent out for a service of twenty-four hours, and posted with three battalions in 
the trenches, and one battalion in reserve along the crossroad to Pasay; Cossack posts 
being sent out from the latter to guard the camp against any possible surprise from 
the northeast and east. The service in the trenches was of the most arduous char- 
acter, the rain being almost incessant, and the men having no protection against it; 
they were wet during the entire twenty-four hours, and the mud was so deep that 
the shoes were ruined and a considerable number of men rendered barefooted. Until 
the notice of bombardment was given on August 7, any exposure above or behind the 
trenches promptly brought the enemy's fire, so that the men had to sit in the mud 
under cover and keep awake, prepared to resist an attack, during the entire tour 
of twenty-four hours. 

"After one particularly heavy rain a portion of the trench contained t\vo feet of 
water, in which the men had to remain. It could not be drained, as it was lower than 
an adjoining rice swamp, in which the water had risen nearly two feet, the rainfall 
being more than four inches in twenty-four hours. These hardships were all en- 
dured by the men of the different regiments in turn, with the finest possible spirit 
and without a murmur of complaint." 

This is a vivid picture of hard service. General Greene continues: 

"August 7 the notice of bombardment after forty-eight hours, or sooner if the 
Spanish fire continued, was served, and after that date not a shot was fired on either 
side until the assault was made on August 13. It was with great difficulty, and in 
some cases not without force, that the insurgents were restrained from openmg fire 
and thus drawing the fire of the Spaniards during this period. 

"Owing to the heavy storm and high surf it was impossible to communicate 
promptly with the division commander at Cavite, and I received my instructions 
direct from the major-general commanding, or his staff officers, one of whom visited 
my camp every day, and I reported direct to him in the same manner. My instruc- 
tions were to occupy the insurgent trenches near the beach, so as to be in a good 
position to. advance on Manila when ordered, but meanwhile to avoid precipitating 
an engagement, not to waste ammunition, and (after August 1) not to return the 
enemy's fire unless convinced that he had left his trenches and was making an attack 
ill force. These instructions were given daily in the most positive terms to the officer 
commanding in the trenches, and in the main they were faithfully carried out. 

"More ammunition than necessary was expended on the nights of August 2 and 
5, but in both cases the trenches were occupied by troops under fire for the first time, 
and in the darkness and rain there was ground to believe that the heavy fire indicated 



OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MAXILA. 149 

a real attack from outside tlie enemy's trenches. The total expenditure of ammuni- 
tion on our side in the four engagements was about 150,000 rounds, and by the enemy 
very much more. 

"After the attack of July 31- August 1, I communicated by signal with the cap- 
tain of the U. S. S. Ealeigh, anchored about 3,000 yards south vvest of my camp, ask- 
ing if he had received orders in regard to the action of his ship in case of another 
attack on my troops. He replied: 

"Both Admiral Dewey and General ]Merritt desire to avoid general action at pres- 
ent. If attack too strong for you, we will assist you, and another vessel will come 
and offer help. 

"In repeating this message, Lieutenant Tappan, commanding JJ. S. S. Callao, 
anchored nearer the beach, sent me a box of blue lights, and it was agreed that if I 
burned one of these on the beach the Ealeigh would at once open fire on the Spanish 
fort.'' 

General Merritt speaks of the Colorado skirmishers leaving their breastworks 
when the hslyj ceased firing on the 13th of August, and advancing swiftly, finding the 
Spanish trenches deserted, "but as they passed over the Spanish works they were met 
by a sharp fire from a second line, situated in the streets of Malate, by which a num- 
ber of men were killed and wounded, among others the soldier who pulled down the 
Spanish colors still flying on the fort and raised our own.'' 

General Greene is complimentary to the ofiicers and who conducted the recon- 
naissances while he was at Camp Dewey twenty-five days, and states: 

"Captain Grove and Lieutenant Means, of the First Colorado, had been partic- 
ularly active in this work and fearless in penetrating beyond our lines and close to 
those of the enemy. As the time for attack approached, these ofiicers made a careful 
examination of the ground between our trenches and Fort San Antonio de Abad, 
and, finally, on August 11, Major J. F. Bell, United States Volunteer Engineers, 
tested the creek in front of this fort and ascertained not only that it was fordable, 
but the exact width of the ford at the beach, and actually swam in the bay to a point 
from which he could examine the Spanish line from the rear. With the information 
thus obtained it was possible to plan the attack intelligently. The position as- 
signed to my brigade extended from the beach to the small rice swamp, a front of 
about 700 yards. 

"After the sharp skirmish on the second line of defense of the Spaniards, and after 
Greene's brigade moved through Malate, meeting a shuffling foe, the open space at 
the luneta, just south of the walled city, was reached about 1 p. m. A white flag was 
flying at the southwest bastion, and I rode forward to meet it under a heavy fire 



150 OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 

from our right and rear on the Paco road. At the bastion I was informed that officers 
representing General Merritt and Admiral Dewey were on their way ashore to receive 
the surrender, and I therefore turned east to the Paco road. The firing ceased at 
this time, and on reaching this road I found nearly 1,000 Spanish troops who had 
retreated from Santa Ana through Paco, and coming up the Paco road had been 
firing on our flank. I held the commanding officers, but ordered these troops to 
march into the walled city. At this point, the Calif orni'a regiment a short time be- 
fore had met some insurgents who had fired at the Spaniards on the walls, and the 
latter in returning the fire had caused a loss in the California regiment of 1 killed 
and 2 wounded. 

"My instructions vrere to march past the walled city on its surrender, cross the 
bridge, occupy the city on the north side of the Pasig, and protect lives and property 
there. While the white flag was flying on the walls yet, very sharp firing had just 
taken place outside, and there were from 5,000 to 6,000 men on the walls, with arms 
in their hands, only a few yards from us. I did not feel justified in leaving this force 
in my rear until the surrender was clearly established, and I therefore halted and 
assembled my force, prepared to force the gates if there was any more firing. The 
Eighteenth Infantry and*First California were sent forward to hold the bridges a few 
yards ahead, but the second battalion. Third Artillery, First Nebraska, Tenth Penn- 
sylvania, and First Colorado were all assembled at this point. While this was being 
done I received a note from Lieutenant-Colonel Whittier, of General Merritt's staff, 
written from the Captain-GeneraFs office within the walls, asb'ng me to stop the 
firing outside, as negotiations for surrender were in progress." 

And General Greene continues: "I then returned to the troops outside the walls 
and sent Captain Birkhimer's battalion of the Third Artillery down the Paco road 
to prevent any insurgents from entering. Feeling satisfied that there Avould be no 
attack from the Spanish troops lining the walls, I put the regiments in motion toward 
the bridges, brushing aside a considerable force of insurgents who had penetrated 
the city from the direction of Paco, and were in the main street with their flag expect- 
ing to march into the walled city and plant it on the walls. After crossing the 
bridges the Eighteenth United States Infantry was posted to patrol the principal 
streets near the bridge, the First California was sent up the Pasig to occupy Quiapo, 
San Miguel, and Malacanan, and with the First Nebraska I marched down the river 
to the Captain of the Port's office, where I ordered the Spanish flag hauled down and 
the American flag raised in its place.'' 

The insurgents were disposed to disregard the white flag and the process of the 
.^capitulation, but "a considerable force" of them was "brushed aside." General 




MURAT HALSTEAD, THE AUTHOR, AS HE APPEAL KD 
IN MANILA. 




4^ 



^^^T'. 




CATHEDRAL OF MANILA AFTER EARTHQUAKE. 



^ 




% 






\ 
I 
1 


1 


<y-i' 






1 






■ 


^ 



SPANISH REINFORCEMENTS CROSSING BRIDGE OVER PASIG RIVER. 



OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 15 » 




152 OFFICIAL FTISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MAXILA. 

Greene's losses before Manila were 16 killed and 66 wounded; his force 5,100. He- 
remarks: "The resistance encountered on the 13th was much less than anticipated 
and planned for, but had the resistance been greater the result would have been 
the same, only the loss would have been greater. Fortunately, the great result of 
capturing this city, the seat of Spanish power in the East for more than three hun- 
dred years, was accomplished with a loss of life comparatively insignificant." 

Captain T. B. Mott, detached from General Merritt's temporarily, served on 
General Greene's staff, and received this mention: 

"In posting troops in the trenches, in making reconnoissances, in transmitting 
orders undcx fire, and in making reports, he has uniformly exhibited courage, mili- 
tary ability, and sound judgment, the qualities, in short, which are most valuable in- 
a staff officer." 

Captain Bates, Lieutenant Schieflie, and Captain D. F. Millet, artist and author, 
are praised for activit}^, intelligence and valuable service. Millet was with Greene' 
before Plevna, during the Russo-Turkish campaign. Greene was appointed the- 
senior m.ember of the committee to arrange the terms of the capitulation. 

General Anderson had instructions to extend his line to crowd the insurgents 
out of their trenches with their consent, but this was not attempted, for that would 
have brought on an engagement prematurely. Anderson had purchased wire-cutters 
with insulated handles in San Francisco, and they were useful. Anderson had his 
trenches with the insurgents. McArthur's division was before a "circulated line of earth- 
works faced with sand bags," and the problem of the advance was made difficult because' 
"we could not be sure whether our first attack was to be tentative or serious, this 
depending on action of the navy; second, from our orders not to displace the in- 
surgents without their consent from their position to the right of their guns on the- 
Pasay road. This to tAe very last the insurgent leaders positively refused to give. 
Yet, if we could not go far enough to the right to silence their field guns and 
carry that part of their line, they would have a fatal cross fire on troops attacking 
blockhouse No. 1-1. I therefore directed General MacArthur to put the three 2.10 
inch guns of Battery B, Utah Volunteer Artillery, in the emplacement of the insur- 
gent gun and to place the Astor Battery behind a high garden wall to the right of 
the Pasay road, to be held there subject to orders. 

"I assumed that when the action became hot at this point, as I knew it would 
be, that the insurgents would voluntarily fall back from their advanced position^ 
and that the Astor Battery and its supports could take position without opposition." 

General Anderson got a message from General MacArthur. "I knew from this- 
that he wished to push the insurgents aside and put in the Astor Battery. I then. 



OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 153 

authorized him to attack, which he did, and, soon after, the Twenty-third Infantry 
and the Thirteenth Minnesota carried the advance hne of the enemy in the most 
gallant manner, the one gun of the Utah Battery and the Astor Battery lending 
most effective assistance.'' 

It was General Anderson's opinion that MacArthur should counter march and 
go to Malate by the beach, but he had gone too far, for "the guns of the Astor Bat- 
tery had been dragged to the front only after the utmost exertions, and were about 
being put into battery. At the same time I received a telegram stating that the 
insurgents were threatening to cross the bamboo bridge on our right; and to prevent 
this and guard our ammunition at Pasay, I ordered an Idaho battalion to that point." 

Again the insurgents were making mischief, and General Anderson, as well as 
General Greene had the experience of the continuance of fire when the white flag was 
flying. The loss of General Anderson in the taking of the city was nineteen men 
killed and one hundred and three wounded. He concludes by saying: 

"The opposition we met in battle was not sufficient to test the bravery of our 
soldiers, but all showed bravery and dash. The losses show that the leading regi- 
ments of the First Brigade — Thirteenth Minnesota, Twenty-third Infantry, and 
the Astor Battery — met the most serious opposition and deserve credit for their 
success. The Colorado, California, and Oregon regiments, the Regulars, and all the 
batteries of the Second Brigade showed such zeal that it seems a pity that they did 
not meet foemen worthy of their steel." 

General MacArthur says: "Several hours before the operations of the day were 
intended to commence, there w^as considerable desultory firing from the Spanish 
line, both of cannon and small arms, provoked no doubt by Filipino soldiers, who 
insisted upon maintaining a general fusilade along their lines." 

General MacArthur's personal mention is remarkably spirited, and makes stir- 
ring reading. We quote: 

"The combat of Singalong can hardly be classified as a great military event, 
but the involved terrain and the prolonged resistance created a very trying situa- 
tion, and afforded an unusual scope for the display of military qualities by a large 
number of individuals. 

"The invincible composure of Colonel Ovenshine, during an exposure in danger- 
ous space for more than an hour, was conspicuous and very inspiring to the troops; 
and the efficient manner in which he took advantage of opportunities as they arose 
during the varying aspects of the fight was of great practical value in determining 
the result. 

"The cool, determined, and sustained efforts of Colonel Reeve, of the Thirteenth 



154 OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 

Jlinnesota, contributed very materially to the maintenance of the discipline and 
narked efficiency of his regiment. 

"The brilliant manner in which Lieutenant March accepted and discharged the 
lesponsible and dangerous duties of the day, and the pertinacity with which^ as- 
sisted by his officers and men^ he carried his guns over all obstacles to the very front 
of the firing line, was an exceptional display of warlike skill and good judgment, 
indicating the existence of many of the best qualifications for high command in 
tattle. 

"The gallant manner in which Captain Sawtelle, brigade quartermaster^ vol- 
imteered to join the advance party in the rush; volunteered to command a firing 
line, for a time without an officer, and again volunteered to lead a scout to ascer- 
tain the presence or absence of the enemy in the blockhouse, was a fine display of 
personal intrepidity. 

"The efficient, fearless, and intelligent manner in which Lieutenant Kernan, 
Twenty-first L^nited States Infantry, acting assistant adjutant-general of the brigade, 
and Second Lieutenant Whitworth, Eighteenth United States Infantry, aid, executed 
a series of dangerous and difficult orders, was a fine exemplification of staff work 
imder fire. 

"The splendid bravery of Captains Bjornstad and Seebach, and Lieutenant 
Lackore, of the Thirteenth Minnesota, all wounded, and, finally, the work of the 
soldiers of the first firing line, too, all ^vent to make up a rapid succession of in- 
dividual actions of unusual merit." 

Major General Merritt's account of the capture of the city must be given in 
full, for there are no words wasted, and he clears the field of all confusion. 

"The works of the second line soon gave way to the determined advance of 
Greene's troops, and that officer pushed his brigade rapidly th' jugh Malate and over 
the bridges to occu2:>y Binondo and San Miguel, as contemplated in his instructions. 
In the meantime tlie brigade of General Mac Arthur, advancing simultaneously on 
the Pasay road, encountered a very sharp fire, coming from the blockhouses, 
trenches, and woods in his front, positions which it was very difficult to carry, ow- 
ing to the swampy condition of the ground on both sides of the roads, and the 
heavy undergrowth concealing the enemy. With much gallantry and excellent judg- 
ment on the part of the brigade commander and the troops engaged these difficulties 
were overcome with a minimum loss (see report of brigade commander appended), 
and MacArthur advanced and held the bridges and the town of Malate, as was 
contemplated in his instructions. 

"The city of Manila was now in our possession, excepting the walled town, but 



OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 155 

shortly after the entry of our troops into Malate a white flag was displayed on the 
walls, whereupon Lieutenant-Colonel C. A Whittier, United States Volunteers, of 
my staff, and Lieutenant Brumby, United States Navy, representing Admiral Dewey^ 
were sent ashore to communicate with the Captain-General. I soon personally fol- 
lowed these officers into the town, going at once to the palace of the Governor-Gen- 
eral, and there, after a conversation with the Spanish authorities, a preliminary agree- 
ment of the terms of capitulation was signed by the Captain-General and myself. 
This agreement was subsequently incorporated into the formal terms of capitula- 
tion, as arranged by the officers representing the two forces, a copy of which is hereto 
appended and marked. 

"Immediately after the surrender the Spanish, colors on the sea front were hauled 
down and the American flag displayed and saluted by the guns of the navy. The 
Second Oregon Eegiment, which had proceeded by sea from Cavite, was disem- 
barked and entered the walled town as a provost guard, and the colonel was directed 
to receive the Spanish arms and deposit them in places of security. The town w^as 
filled with the troops of the enemy driven in from the intrenchments, regiments 
formed and standing in line in the streets, but the work of disarming proceeded 
quietly and riothing unpleasant occurred. 

"In leaving the subject of the operations of the 13th, I desire here to record my 
appreciation of the admirable manner in which the orders for attack and the plan 
for occupation of the city were carried out by the troops exactly as contemplated. I 
submit that for troops to enter under fire a town covering a wide area, to rapidly 
deploy and guard all principal points in the extensive suburbs, to keep out the in- 
surgent forces pressing for admission, to quietly disarm an army of Spaniards more 
than equal in numbers to the American troops, and finally by all this to prevent 
entirely all rapine, pillage, and disorder, and gain entire and complete possession of 
a city of 300,000 people filled with natives hostile to the European interests, and 
stirred up by the knowledge that their own people were fighting in the outside 
trenches, was an act which only the law-abiding, temperate, resolute American sol- 
dier, well and skillfully handled by his regimental and brigade commanders, could 
accomplish. 

The trophies of Manila were nearly $900,000,000, of which $240,000,000 were 
copper coin, 13,000 prisoners and 22,000 arms. 

Three days after the surrender. General Merritt received news of the protocol, and 
soon was ordered to Paris. In parting he says of the insurgent chief that he had 
written communication w^ith him on various occasions, and "he recognized my author- 
ity as military governor of the town of Manila and suburbs, and made professions- 



156 OFFICIAL HISTOEY OF THE CONQUEST OP MANILA. 

of his willingness to withdraw his troops to a line which I might indicate, but at 
the same time asking certain favors for himself. The matters in this connection had 
not been settled at the date of my departure. Doubtless much dissatisfaction is 
felt by the rank and file of the insurgents that they have not been permitted to enjoy 
the occupancy of Manila, and there is some ground for trouble with them owing 
to that fact, but notwithstanding many rumors to the contrary, I am of the opinion 
that the leaders will be able to prevent serious disturbances, as they are sufficiently 
intelhgent and educated to know that for them to antagonize the United States would 
be to destroy their only chance of future political improvement. 

The Commanding General's personal acknowledgments are very handsome, as 
follows: 

"Brigadier-General E. P. Hughes, my inspector-general at San Francisco, was 
especially noticeable in accomplishing the instruction of the green troops that came 
to the city, many of them without arms, clothing, or equipment of any kind. His 
services will undoubtedly be duly recognized by Major-General Otis, with whom I 
left him to continue the good work. 

"I desire especially to express my acknowledgments to Brigadier-General Bab- 
cock, my adjutant-general and chief of staff, for his most valuable services from 
the inception of the campaign in San Francisco to the close of the work at the pres- 
ent time. This officer is too well known to require special mention of his services 
in any one direction. He was my right arm, not only in the office but in the field, 
and much of the success that has attended the expedition is due to his individual ef- 
forts. 

"I desire especially to mention Major McClure and Major Whipple, of the pay de- 
partment, who volunteered their services after they had completed their legitimate 
duties, and performed excellent work whenever called upon. Major McClure was 
especially important in his services immediately after the surrender, taking long 
rides under my orders to the Spanish lines, and bearing instructions to them which 
resulted in effecting their withdrawal in such manner as to prevent the incursion of 
the insurgents in the northern portions of the city. Other officers have been named 
in my special reports and have been recommended for brevets and promotion. 

"I especially call attention to the services of Captain Mott, as mentioned in the 
report of Brigadier-General Greene. He was cheerful, willing, intelhgent, and ener- 
getic in the discharge of the multifarious duties imposed upon him in connection 
with our troops and trenches during the rainy season, and in the final action showed 
those rare characteristics which stamp him as a very superior soldier." 



OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA, 157 




158 OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 

THE TERMS OF CAPITUI iTION. 

The undersigned having heen appointed a commission to determine the details 
of the capitulation of the cit}' and defenses of Manila and its suburbs and the Span- 
ish forces stationed therein^ in accordance with the agreement entered into the pre- 
vious day by Major General Wesley Merritt, United States Army, American com- 
]nander in chief in the Philippines, and His Excellency Don Fermin Jaudenes^ 
acting General in chief of the Spanish Army in the Philippines, have agreed upon the 
following: 

1. The Spanish troops, European and native, capitulate with the city and its 
defenses, with all the honors of war, depositing their arms in the places designated 
by the authorities of the United States, and remaining in the quarters designated 
and under the orders of their officers, and subject to the control of the aforesaid 
ITnited States authorities, until the conclusion of a treaty of peace between the two 
belhgerent nations. 

All persons included in the capitulation remain at liberty, the officers remain- 
ing in their respective homes, which shall be respected as .long as they observe the 
regulations prescribed for their government and the laws in force. 

2. Officers shall retain their side arms, horses, and private property. 

3. All public horses and pubhc property of all kinds shall be turned over to staff 
officers designated by' the United States. 

L Complete returns in duplicate of men by organizations, and full lists of public 
property and stores shall be rendered to the United States within ten days from this 
date. 

5. All questions relating to the repatriation of officers and men of the Spanish 
forces and of their families, and of the expenses which said repatriation may occasion, 
shall be referred to the Government of the United States at Washington. / 

Spanish families may leave Manila at any time convenient to them. 
The return of the arms surrendered by the Spanish forces shall take place when 
they evacuate the city or when the American Army evacuates. 

6. Officers and men included in the capitulation shall be supplied by the United 
States, according to their rank, with rations and necessary aid as though they were 
prisoners of war, until the conclusion of a treaty of peace between the United States 
and Spain. 

All the funds in the Spanish treasury and all other public funds shall be turned 
over to the authorities of the United States. 

7. This city, its inhabitants, its churches and religious worship, its educational 



OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. 159 

establishments, and its private property of all descriptions are placed under the 
special safeguard of the faith and honor of the American Army. 

F. V. GREENE, 
Brigaaier-General of Volunteers, L^nited States Army. 

B. P. LAMBERTON, 
Captain, L'nited States Navy. 
CHARLES A. WHITTIER, 
Lieutenant-Colonel and Inspector-General. 
E. H. CROWDER, 
Lieutenant-Colonel and Judge-Advocate. 
NICHOLAS DE LA PETRA, 

Auditor General Excmo. 
CARLOS, 
Coronet de Ingenieros. 
JOSE, 
Coronet de Estado Major." 



The Spaniards wanted a long array of specifications as to what the Americans 
might and should not do, but finally were struck with the sufficiency of the shining 
simple words, ^'under the special safeguard of the faith and honor of the American 
Army.'"' 



CHAPTEE XI. 

THE ADMimSTEATIOISr OF GENERAL MEREITT. 

The Official Gazette Issued at Manila — Orders and Proclamations Showing the 
Policy and Detail of the Administration of Major-General Wesley Merritt, 
Who, as Commander of the Philippine Expedition, Became, Under the Cir- 
cumstances of the Capture of Manila, the Governor of That City. 

GENEEAL MEEEITT^S PEOCLAMATION TO THE FILIPmOS. 

Headquarters Department of the Pacific, August 14, 1898. 

To the People of the Philippines: 

I. War has existed between the United States and Spain since April 21 of this 
year. Since that date you have witnessed the destruction by an American fleet 
of the Spanish naval power in these islands, the fall of the principal city, Manila, and 
its defenses, and the surrender of the Spanish army of occupation to the forces 
of the United States. 

II. The commander of the United States forces now in possession has instruc- 
tions from his Government to assure the people that he has not come to wage war 
upon them, nor upon any part or faction among them, but to protect them in their 
homes, in their employments, and in their personal and religious rights. All persons, 
who, by active aid or honest submission, co-operate with the United States in its 
efforts to give effect to this beneficent purpose, will receiv^e the reward of its support 
and protection. 

III. The government established among you by the United States is a govern- 
ment of military occupation; and for the present it is ordered that the municipal 
laws such as affect private rights of persons and property, regulate local institutions, 
and provide for the punishment of crime, shall be considered as continuing in force, 
so far as compatible with the purposes of military government, and that they be 
administered through the ordinary tribunals substantially as before occupation, but 
by officials appointed by the government of occupation. 

IV. A Provost-Marshal-General will be appointed for the city of Manila and 

160 



THE ADMIXISTRATION OF GEXERAL MEERITT. 161 

its outlying districts. This territory will be divided into sub-districts, and there 
will be assigned to each a Deputy-Provost-Marshal. 

The duties of the Provost-Marshal-General and his deputies will be set forth 
in detail in future orders. In a general way they are charged with the duty of making 
arrests of military, as well as civil offenders, sending such of the former class as 
are triable by courts-martial to their proper commands, with statements of their 
offenses and names of witnesses, and detaining in custody all other offenders for 
trial by military commission, provost courts, or native criminal courts, in accordance 
with law and the instructions hereafter to be issued. 

Y. The port of Manila, and all other ports and places in the Philippines which 
may be in the actual possession of our land and naval forces, will be open, while our 
military occupation may continue, to tJie commerce of all neutral nations as well as 
our own, in articles not contraband of war, and upon payment of the prescribed 
rates of duty which may be in force at the time of the importation. 

YI. All churches and places devoted to religious worship and to the arts and 
sciences, all educational institutions, libraries, scientific collections, and museums are, 
so far as possible, to be protected; and all destruction or intentional defacement of 
such places or property, of historical monuments, archives, or works of science and 
art, is prohibited, save when required by urgent military necessity. Severe punish- 
ment will be meted out for all violations of this regulation. 

The custodians of all property of the character mentioned in this section will 
make prompt returns thereof to these headquarters, stating character and location, 
and embodying such recommendations as they may think proper for the full protec- 
tion of the properties 'under their care and custody, that proper orders may issue 
enjoining the co-operation of both military and civil authorities in securing such 
protection. 

YII. The Commanding General, in announcing the establishment of military 
government, and in entering upon his duty as Military Governor in pursuance of his 
appointment as such by the government of the United States, desires to assure 
the people that so long as they preserve the peace and perform their duties toward 
the representatives of thf United States they will not be disturbed in their persons 
and property, except in so far as may be found necessary for the good of the service 
of the United States and the benefit of the people of the Phihppines. 

WESLEY MERRITT, 
Major-General, United States Army, Commanding. 
The general orders following are full of curious interest, as they declare the true 



162 THE ADMINISTRATION OF GENERAL MEERITT. 

intent and meaning of the Philippine Expedition, and define the situation at Manila, 
with extraordinary precision, and are in the strictest sense by authority: 

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE PACIFIC 

AND 
EIGHTH ARMY CORPS 

Manila Bay, August 9th, 1898. 
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 3. 

1. In view of the extraordinary conditions under which this Army is operat- 
ing, the Commanding General desires to acquaint the officers and men composing 
it, with the expectations which 'he entertains as to their conduct. 

You are assembled upon foreign soil situated within the western confines of a 
vast ocean separating you from your native land. You have come not as despoilers 
and oppressors, but simply as the instruments of a strong free government, whose 
purposes are beneficent and which has declared itself in this war, the champion of 
those oppressed by Spanish misrule. 

It is therefore the intention of this order to appeal directly to your pride in your 
position as representatives of a high civilization, in the hope and with the firm 
conviction that you will so conduct yourselves in your relations with the inhabi- 
tants of these islands, as to convince them of the lofty nature of the mission which 
you come to execute. 

It is not believed that any acts of pillage, rapine, or violence will be committed 

by soldiers or other in the employ of the United States, but should there be persons 

with this command who prove themselves unworthy of this confidence, their acts 

will be considered not only as crimes against the sufferers, but as direct insults 

to the United States flag, and they will be punished on the spot with the maximum 

penalties known to military law. 

By Command of Major-General Merritt: 

J. B. BABCOCK, 

Ad j utant- General . 
Official: 

BENTLEY MOTT, Aid. 



HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE PACISIC 

AND 
EIGHTH ARMY CORPS. 

Manila, P. I., August 15th, 1898. 
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 4. 

1. In addition to his duties as Division Commander, Brigadier-General T. M. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF GENERAL MERRITT: 168 

Anderson, U. S. Vols., is hereby assigned to the command of the District of Cavite 
and will remove his headquarters to that point. The garrison of the District of 
Cavite will be augmented upon the arrival of the next transports containing troops 
for this command. 

2. In addition to his duties as Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Arthur 
MacArthur, U. S. Vols., is hereby appointed Military Commandant of the walled 
city of Manila, and Provost-Marshal-General of the City of Manila, including all the 
outlying districts within the municipal jurisdiction. General MacArthur will remove 
his headquarters within the walled city and will bring with him one strong regiment 
of his command to take station within the walled town. The Commanding Officer 
of the 2nd Oregon Vol. Inf., now stationed in the walled city, will report to General 
MacArthur, and the Companies of the 2nd Oregon Vol. Inf., now at Cavite, will, 
upon being relieved by other troops, be sent to Manila to join the regiment. Gen- 
eral Macilrthur will relieve the Civil Governor of his functions, and take possession 
of the offices, clerks and all machinery of administration of that office, retaining and 
employing the present subordinate officers of civil adminisfration until, in his judg- 
ment, it is desirable to replace them by other appointments. 

3. Colonel James S. Smith, 1st California Vol. Inf., in addition to his duties 
as Remimental Commander, is appointed Deputy Provost-Marshal for the Districts of 
the city north of the Pasig River, and will report to General MacArthur. Colonel 
S. Ovenshine, 23rd U. S. Inf., is appointed Deputy Provost-Marshal for the dis- 
tricts of the cit}^, including Ermita and Malate, outside of the walled town and 
south of the Pasig River, and will report to General MacArthur. 

4. Under paragraphs ''3" and "4" of the terms of capitulation, full lists of pub- 
lic property and stores, and returns in duplicate of the men by organizations, are 
to be rendered to the United States within ten days, and public horses and public 
property of all kinds are to be turned over to the staff officers of the United States 
designated to receive them. Under these paragraphs the Chiei of Artillery at these 
headquarters, and the Chiefs of the Staff Departments, will take possession of the 
public property turned over as above, pertaining to their respective departments. 

The returns of the prisoners will be submitted to the Mihtary Commandant 
of the City, who will assign the men for quarters in such public buildings and bar- 
racks as are not required for the use of United States troops. The horses and privai? 
property of the officers of the Spanish forces are not to be disturbed. The Chief 
Paymaster at these headquarters Avill turn over such portion of the Spanish public 
funds received by him, by virtue of this order, to the administration of his office. 

5. All removals and appointments of subordinate officers of civil administrntion, 



lU THE ADMINISTEATION OF GENEEAL MEEEITT. 

and transfers of funds anthorized by this order, must receive the approval of the 

Commanding General, before action is taken. 

6. The Chief Quartermaster and Chief Commissary of Subsistence at these 

headquarters will establish depots of supply in Manila with as little delay as possible. 

Quartermaster and Subsistence depots will also be retained at Cavite. 

By Command of Major-General Merritt: 

J. B. BABCOCK, 

Adjutant-General. 
Official: 

BENTLEY MOTT, Aid. 



HEADQUA'ETEES DEPAETMENT OF THE PACIFIC 

AND 
EIGHTH AEMY COEPS. 

Manila, P. L, August 17th, 1898. 

GEjSTEEAL oedees :ko. 5. 

1. In addition to the command of his Brigade, Brigadier-General F. Y. Greene^ 
U. S. Yols., will perform the duties hitherto performed by the Intendente General de 
Hacienda, and will have charge, subject to instructions of the Major General Com- 
manding, of all fiscal affairs of the Government of Manila. 

2. Lieutenant-Colonel C. A. Whittier, U. S. Yols., is appointed Collector of 
Customs, and the Chief Paymaster, Department of the Pacific, will designate a 
bonded officer of the Pay Department as custodian of alh public funds. Both of 
these officers will report to Brigadier-General Greene for instructions. 

By Command of Major-General Merritt: 

J. B. BABCOCK, 
Adjutant-Genera] , 
Official: 

BENTLEY MOTT, Aid. 



HEADQUAETEES DEPAETMENT OF THE PACIFIC 

AND 
EIGHTH AEMY COEPS. 

Manila, P. I., August ITth, 1898. 
GENEEAL OEDEES, No. 6. 

The Major-General Commanding desires to congratulate the troops of this com- 
mand upon their brilliant success in the capture, by assault, of the defenses of Ma- 



THE ADMIXISTEATIOX OF GEXERAL MERRITT. 165 

nil a. on Saturday, August 13, a date hereafter to be memorable in the history of 
xlmerican yictories. 

After a journey of seven thousand miles by sea, the soldiers of the Philippine 
Expedition encountered most serious difficulties in landing, due to protracted storms 
raising high surf, through which it was necessary to pass the small boats which 
afforded the only means of disembarking the army and its supplies. This great task, 
and the privations and hardships of a campaign during the' rainy season in tropical 
lowlands, were accomplished and endured by all the troops, in a spirit of soldierly 
fortitude, which has at all times during these days of trial, given the Commanding 
General the most heartfelt pride and confidence in his men. Xothing could be finer 
than the patient, uncomplaining devotion to duty which all have shown. 

Xow it is his pleasure to announce that within three weeks after the arrival in 
the Philippines of the greater portion of the forces, the capital city of the Spanish 
possessions in the East, held by Spanish veterans, has fallen into our hands, and he 
feels assured that all officers and men of this command have reason to be proud of 
the success of the expedition. 

The Commanding General will hereafter take occasion to mention to the Home 
Government, the names of officers, men and organizations, to whom special credit 
is due. 

By Command of Major-General Merritt: 

J. B. BABCOCK, 

Adjutant-General 
Official: 

BEXTLEY MOTT, Aid. 



HEADQUAETEES OF THE PEOVOST-MAESHAL-GEXEEAL 

AXD 
MILITAEY COMMAXDAXT. 

Citv of Manila. P. I.. August 18th, 1898. 
GEXEEAL OEDEES, XO. 1. 

1. In obedience to the provisions of General Orders, Xo. 3, dated Headquarters 
Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps, Manila, P. I., August loth, 1898, 
the undersigned hereby assumes the office and duties of Military Commandant of 
the walled city of Manila; Provost-Marshal-General of the city of Manila, including 
the outlying districts within the municipal jurisdiction, and also the functions of 
Civil Governor. 

2. Until further orders the preservation of law and order throughout the city 
will be maintained accordins: to the arransfements which now obtain. 



166 THE ADMINISTEATIO^ OF GENERAL MEEEITT. 

3. The location of these Headquarters will be at the office of the Civil Governor, 
corner of San Juan de Letran and Anda Streets, and to the above address will be 
referred all jDapers requiring action by the undersigned. To insure prompt investiga- 
tion, all claims, complaints, and petitions should be presented in the Enghsh lan- 
guage. 

4. Major Harry C. Hale, xlssistant Adjutant-General U. S. Volunteers; aide de 
<?amp to the Commanding General, having been assigned for temporary duty at these 
Headquarters, is hereby appointed Adjutant-General to the undersigned. 

5. Colonel S. Overshine having been appointed by proper authority Deputy Pro- 
vost-Marshal of the districts of the city (including Ermita and Malate) outside of the 
walled town and south of the Pasig river, will organize and establish his office as 
soon as possible, and report the location thereof to these Headquarters. 

6. Colonel James S. Smith, 1st California Volunteer Infantry, having been 
appointed by proper authority Deputy Provost-Marshal of the districts of the city 
north of the Pasig river, will organize and establish his office as soon as possible and 
report location thereof to these Headcpaarters. 

(Sgd.) ARTHUR MACARTHUR, 

Brigadier-General U. S. Volunteers. 
Military Commandant and Provost-Marshai-General. 



The Official Gazette of Aug. 23 is a record of the organization of the Military 
Government of Manila. 

OFFICE CHIEF OF POLICE. 

MANILA, P. I. 
ORDER Xo. 1. 

Bj command of Brigadier-General MacArthur and Military Commandant, the 
Thirteenth Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry is designated to perform the 
police duty of this city and the commanding officer thereof is appoiijted Chief of 
Police, and Major Ed. S. Bean, Inspector of Police. 

Companies D, G, J and S are hereby detailed to at once take charge of the 

police stations and perform the necessary duties pertaining to the position of police 

and maintenance of order. 

C. McC. REEVE, 

Colonel 13th Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry and Chief of Police. 

Aug. 22d, 1898. 



THE ADMINISTEATION OF GENEEAL MEREITT. 167 

OFFICE CHIEF OF POLICE. 

MAIsHLA, P. I. 
OEDEE ISTo. 2. 

1. The following is published for the information of the police of this city: 

2. Bulletin boards will be kept in all stations and all orders issued from this 
ofliee will be posted thereon. 

3. Armed native and Spanish soldiers must be disarmed before being allowed to 
pass through gates, either way. 

4. Arrest drunk and disorderly persons. 

5. Spanish officers are allowed to wear their side arms. 

6. Commanding officers will have their respective districts patroled at least once 
each hour during the day and night. 

7. Shoes must be blacked and all brasses bright and shining at all times. 

8. Be courteous in your contact with both natives and Spaniards and see that 
all soldiers of other commands observe this rule. 

9. Particular attention must be given by men at the gates to the saluting of of- 
ficers in passing through, and particularly so to the general officers. 

ED. S. BEAN, 
Major 13th Eegiment Minnesota Yolunteer Infantry, and Inspector of Police. 
Aug. 22d, 1898. 
Approved, 

EEEYE, 

. Colonel 13th Eegiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry and Chief of Police. 



HEADQUAETEES OF THE PEOVOST-MAESHAL A^B MILITAEY 

COMMANDANT. 

Adjutant-General's Office, City of Manila, P. L, August 22nd, 1898. 
GENEEAL OEDEES, No. 3. 

Colonel McCc Eeeve, 13th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, is hereby directed to re- 
iieve the Commandante of the Guardia Civil Veterana of his functions, and will take 
possession of his office and will employ such officers and soldiers of his regiment as 
may be necessary for the adequate police protection of this city. 

By Command of Brigadier-General MacArthur, 
Provost-Marshal-General and Military Commandant, 

HAEEY C. HALE, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 



168 THE ADMINISTEATION OF GENERAL MEEEITT. 

OEDEE No. 3. 

OFFICE CHIEF OF POLICE. 

MANILA, P. I. 

To Commanding Officer. 

STATIONS. 

Notify all livery stables and other places in your districts, depositino- large quan- 
tities of manure and other refuse in the streets, that they must cart it away daily, 
themselves. 

Failure to do so will result in the arrest of the offending party. 

ED. S. BEAN, 
Major 13th Minnesota Volunteers, and Inspector of Pohce. 
August 22d, 1898. 
Approved 

EEEVE, 

Colonel 13th Minnesota Volunteers, and Chief of Police. 



HEADQUAETEHS DEPAETMENT OF THE PACIFIC 

AND 
EIGHTH AEMY COEPS. 

Manila, Philippine Islands, August 22nd, 1898. 
GENEEAL OEDEES, No. 8. 

I. For the maintenance of law and order in those portions of the Philippines oc- 
cupied or controlled by the iirmy of the United States, and to provide means to 
promptly punish infraction of the same, Military Commissions and Provost Courts, 
composed and constituted in accordance with the laws of war, will be appointed 
from time to time as occasion may require. 

II. The local courts, continued in force for certain purposes in proclamation 
from these headquarters, dated August 14th, 1898, shall not exercise jurisdiction 
over any crime or offense committed by. any person belonging to the Army of the 
United States, or any retainer of the Army, or person serving with it, or any per- 
son furnishing or transporting supplies for the Army; nor over any crime or offense 
committed on either of the same by any inhabitant or temporary resident of said 
territory. In such cases, except when Courts Martial have jurisdiction, jurisdiction 
to try and punish is vested in Military Commissions and the Provost Court, as here- 
inafter set forth. 

III. The crimes and offenses triable by Military Commission are murder, man- 
slaughter, assault and battery with intent to kill, robbery, rape, assault and battery 



THE ADMINISTEATION OF GENEEAL MERRITT. 169 

with intent to rape, and such other crimes, offenses, or violations of the laws of war 
as may be referred to it for trial by the Commanding General. The punishment 
awarded by Military Commission shall conform, as far as possible, to the laws of the 
United States, or the custom of war. Its sentence is subject to the approval of the 
Commanding General. 

IV. The Provost Court has jurisdiction to try all other crimes and offenses, 
referred to in Section II of this order; not exclusively triable by Courts Martial or 
Military Commission, including violations of orders or the laws of war, and such 
cases as may be referred to it by the Commanding General. It shall have power to 
punish with confinement, with or without hard labor, for not more than six (6) 
months, or with fine not exceeding Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($250.00) or 
both. Its sentence does not require the approval of the Commanding General, 
but may be mitigated or remitted by him. 

V. The Judge of the Provost Court will be appointed by this Commanding Gen- 
eral. When in the opinion of the Provost Court its power of punishment is inade- 
quate, it shall certify the case to the Commanding General for his consideration 

and action. 

By Command of Major-General Merritt: 

J. B. BABCOCK, 

Adjutant-General. 
Official: 

BEXTLEY MOTT, Aid. 



HEADQUARTEES DEPARTMENT OF THE PACIFIC. 

AND 
EIGHTH AEMY COEPS. 

Manila, P. I., August 22ncl, 1898. 
SPECIAL OEDEES, No. 32. 

1. Upon the recommendation of the Intendente General de Hacienda, Major 
E. B. C. Bement, Engineer Officer, U. S. Volunteers, is hereby appointed Adminis- 
trator de Hacienda (Collector of Internal Eevenue), and will report without delaj 
to Brigadier-General F. V. Greene, U. S. Volunteers, Intendente General, Manila. 

2. The following orders are confirmed: Special Orders No. 5, Headquarters 
Second Division, Eighth Army Corps, August 6th, 1898, placing Fi«rst Lieutenant 
W. G. Haan, 3rd U. S. Artillery, in command of a separate battery to be organized 



170 THE ADMINISTRATION OF GENEEAL MERRITT. 

by details from batteries of 3rd U. S. Artillery, to man the Hotchkiss revolving can- 
non brought on the transport Ohio. 

3. Private H. J. Green. Company E, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry, detailed 
on special duty at these headquarters, will be paid commutation of rations at the 
rate of sevent3--five cents per diem, it being entirely impracticable for him to cook 
or utilize rations. He will also be paid commutation of quarters at the usual rate. 
Both commutations to be paid while tliis man is employed on his present duty 
and stationed in this cit}', and to date from and inclusive of the 16th inst. 

4. Corporal Jerome Patterson, Company H, 23rd U. S. Infantry, Corporal 
James Madd}^, Company F, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry, Private Emmett Man- 
le}^ Company I), 23rd U. S. Infantry, Private Eobert M. Nichols, Company A, 1st 
Idaho Volunteer Infantry, Private P. H. Sullivan, Company F, 23rd U. S. Infantry, 
are hereby detailed on special duty at these Headquarters, and will report at once 
to the Adjutant-General for duty. 

5. Lieutenant-Colonel Charles L. Jewett, Judge Advocate, U. S. Volunteers, 
is hereby appointed Judge of the Provost Court, for the city of Manila. He will 
hold the sessions of his court at the headquarters of the Provost-Marshal- General. 
The Quartermaster Department will provide the necessary offices and office furni- 
ture. 

The Provost Court will be attended by one or more Assistant Provost-Marshal, to 
be detailed by the Provost-Marshal-General, who will be charged with the duty 
of enforcing its orders and executing its processes. The form of accusation in the 
Provost Court will be substantially the same as that used in Courts Martial, and 
a record of all cases tried, assimilated to that of the summary court, will be kept. 

6. Upon the recommendation of the Chief Commissary of the Department of 
the Pacific, the issue to Spanish Prisoners by Major S. A. Cloman, C. S., U. S. Vols., 
Depot Commissary, Cavite, P. I., of one (1) box of soap (60 lbs. net) is hereby con- 
firmed. 

7. Sergeant Charles H. Burritt, Company C, 1st Wyoming Volunteer Infantry, 
will report to Lieutenant Morgareidge, 1st Wyoming Volunteer Infantry, on board 
Steamer Ohio, for temporary duty in unloading commissary supplies. 

Upon completion of this duty Sergeant Burritt will rejoin his Company. 

8. Lieutenant Charles H. Sleeper, 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry, is hereby 
appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, and will report to Major R. B. C. 



THE ADMIXISTRATIOX OF GENERAL MEERITT. 171 

Bement, U. S. A^ols., Administrator de Haciena (Collector of Internal Revenue), 
for instructions. 

9. Lieutenant-Colonel Charles L. Potter, U. S. Vols., Chief Engineer Officer, 
Eighth Army Corps, will assume charge of the water supply of this city, and will 
report to Brigadier-General Arthur MacArthur, U. S. Vols., Military Commandant 
oi Manila, for. instructions. 

By Command of Major-General Merritt: 

J. B. BABCOCK, 

Adjutant-General. 

Official: 

BEXTLEY MOTT, Aid. 

The responsibilities of General Merritt in his Manila campaign were graver 
than the country understands, and his success was regarded as so much a matter 
of course that there has been forgetfulness to take into account the many circum- 
stances that gave anxiety preceding decisions that seem easy now that 
they have been vindicated by events. The departure from San Fran- 
cisco of the Major-General commanding the Philippine expedition was as well 
known to the Spanish as to the American cabinet, and there is reason to think there 
were no important particulars of the sailing of the third division of our Philippine 
soldiers unknown to enemies. There were in gold coin, a million and a half dol- 
lars in the strong box of Merritt's ship, the Newport. The Spanish spies were not as 
well posted as an average hackman, if they did not report the shipment of gold. 
It would have been a triumph for Spain to have captured the commanding general 
and the gold, the Astor Battery and the regular recruits with the headc^uarters ship. 
The Spanish were known to have a gunboat or two lurking in the islands within 
striking distance of our transports, unarmed vessels — except a few deck pieces of 
field artillery — with more than a thousand men on each. General Merritt wanted the 
escort of ships of war to make all secure, and application to Admiral Dewey to 
send one of his war boats, brought the statement that he could not spare a ship. 
Just at that time he heard of the run by Camara with the Cadiz fleet Eastward on the 
Mediterranean, and soon he had word that the Pelayo and her companions were in 
the Suez canal. General Greene had not arrived at Manila at that time, and the 
monitors Monterey and Monadnock were getting along slowly. Dewey knew he 
would have to evacuate the scene of his victory in case Camara was fully committed 
to go to Manila, and wait for the Monitors, and when he got them he said he would 
return and sink another Spanish fleet, but tiiat was sometlung it might be critical to 



172 THE ADMmiSTPvATIOX OF GE:N^EEAL MEEEITT. 

explain, and General Merritt, after leaving San FranciscO;, did not get any news for 
t\yenty-six days. All that time he would have had no justification for surprise if 
he had been attacked by a Spanish gunboat, and if the Spaniards had pushed on their 
Eapide — the converted German liner the Normania — she could have beeii handled to 
cut off the American reinforcements on the way to the camps of the httle American 
army already landed. When General Merritt reached Cavite, he found the situation 
difficult for the army and pushed things as the only way to get out of trouble. He 
had tvro armies to deal with, one the Spaniards, fiercely hostile, and the other, the 
Filipinos, factional and Jealous, each outnumbering by five thousand the American 
forces with which the city was assailed and finally captured. There was no time lost, 
and if there had been any delay, even two days, the peace protocol would have found 
our army in the trenches, and the city belonging to the Spaniards. It was the energy 
of General Merritt, heartily shared by Ms division commanders, that prevented this 
embarrassment, which would have been a moral and military misfortune. We have 
given the. General's orders to his troops and the Filipinos after the fall of the city — 
also his original statement of policy, and noted how cleverly they supported each 
other, and how smoothly the work of organization and administration is carried on' 
the world is well aware. The orders deputing the officers to discharge certain duties 
are plain business. There was no departure from the strict, straight line of military 
government, and the threatened entanglements firmly touched passed away. There 
was nothing omitted, or superfluous, and the purpose and programme of policy was 
made clear by events. The confusion overcome by the genius of common sense there 
was^order, all rights resjDected, the administration was a success from the beginning 
and continued, and is to be continued — security is established, there is public con- 
fidence in the air — the "faith and honor of the army" are inviolable, Manila is ours, 
and there is peace. If war comes in that quarter of the globe we shall stand on 
ground that earthquakes cannot shake. 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE AMERICAN ARMY IN MANILA. 

Why the Bo3^s Had a Spell of Home Sickness — Disadvantages of the Tropics — Ad- 
miral Dewey and his Happy Men — How Our Soldiers Passed the Time on the 
Ships — General Merritt's Headquarters — What Is Public Property — The 
Manila Water Suppty — England Our Friend — Majv^r- General Otis, General 

Merritf s Successor. 

The American soldiers in the Philippines were most devoted and cheerful, patient 
under hardship and pleasantly satisfied that they were as far to the front as anybody 
and seeing all there was to see during the siege of Manila. They were out in tropical 
rains, and the ditches they waded were deep with mud unless filled with water. 
They were harassed by the Spanish with the long-range Mausers at night and in- 
sufficiently provided a part of the time with rations. At best they had a very rough 
experience, but kept their health and wanted to go into the city with a rush. They 
would rather have taken chances in storming the place than sleep in the mud, as they 
did for twenty days. 

When the defenders of Manila concluded th'at the honor of Spain would be 
preserved by the shedding of only a little blood in a hopeless struggle and fell back 
from very strong positions before the advance of skirmish lines^ and the American 
columns entered the city, keeping two armies— the Spaniards and the insurgents — 
apart, and, taking possession, restored order and were sheltered in houses, it soon 
began to occur to the hoj5, who came out of the wet campaign looking like veterans 
and feeling that they had gained much by experience, that they were doing garrison 
duty and that it was objectionable. The soldiers who arrived on the Peru, City of 
Pueblo and Pennsylvania were shocked that they had missed the fight and dis- 
gusted with the news of peace. They had made an immense journey to go actively 
into war, and emerged from the ocean solitade to police a city in time of peace. It was 
their notion that they lacked occupation; that their adventure had proved an enter 
prise that could not become glorious. 

The romance of war faded. Unquiet sensations were produced by the stories that 
there was nothing to do but go hojne, and they would soon be placed aboard the 
transports and homeward bound. Besides, the cHmate was depressing. The days 
were hot and the nights were not refreshing. The rations were better and there were 
dry places to sleep, but there was no inspiring excitement, and it was not a life worth 

173 



174 THE AMEEICA^ AEMY IX MANILA. 

living. War — ^^the front" — instead of offering incomparable varieties, became tedious 
— it was a bore, in fact. How could a crowded city and thronged streets be at- 
tractive in a military sense, or the scene of patriotic sacrifice, when the most arduous 
duty was that of police? Was it for this they had left homes in Oregon, Montana, 
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Nebraska, Utah, California and Colorado? 

There came an episode of homesickness. It was about time in a soldier's life to 
contrast it with the farms and the villages, the shops, mines and manufactories. 
They were kept busy on guard and in caring for themselves, in activities as the mas- 
ters of a strange community, but the novelties of the tropics lost their flavor. What 
did a man want with oranges when there were apples? What was a rice swamp com- 
pared with a corn field? Think of the immeasurable superiority, as a steady thing, 
of an Irish potato to a banana, or a peach to a pineapple! What was a Chinese 
pony alongside a Kentucky horse, or a water buffalo with the belly of a hippopotamus 
and horns crooked as a saber and long as your arm to one who had seen old-fashioned 
cows, and bulls whose bellowing Avas as the roaring of lions? The miserable but 
mighty buffaloes were slower than oxen and, horns and all, tame as sheep — the 
slaves of serfs! 

- As for the Chinese, if there were no other objection, they should be condemned 
because too numerous — faithful, perhaps, in a way, but appearing with too much fre- 
quency in the swarming streets. And the vromen, with hair hanging down their 
backs, one shoulder only sticking out of their dresses, the skin shining like a 
scoured copper kettle; a skirt tight around the hips and divided to show a petticoat 
of another tint, a jacket offering further contrasts in colors, slippers flapping under 
naked heels, faces solemn as masks of death heads — oh, for the rosy and jolly girls 
we left behind us in tears! How beautiful were the dear golden-haired and blue-eyed 
blondes of other days! The boys wanted at least tobacco and aerated waters to 
soothe themselves with, and if there was not to be any more fighting, what was the 
matter with going home? 

They also serve, however, who only stand and wait — there are no soldiers 
or sailors in the world who are in a position of greater interest 
and usefulness than those of the American army and navy who 
hold fast with arms the capital city of the Philippines. The army, though much 
exposed, has not suffered severely from sickness. There has been an intense and pro- 
tracted strain upon the men of the ships, but they have recovered from the amiable 
weakness for home, and they are not merely well; they are more than plain healthy — 
they are hearty and happy! There is the light ol good times in their faces. One 
thing in their favor is they have not been allowed to eat unwholesome food, and the 



THE AMEEICAN ARMY IN MANILA. 175 

floors of the warboats and every piece of metal or \70od that is in sight is polished 
and glistening with cleanliness. The soldiers will feel better when the postoffice is in 
working order and they will do better by their organs of digestion when they are 
not deluged with fizz — that is, pop, and beer made without malt, and the strange, 
sweetish fruits that at first were irresistible temptations. 

'^Come with me and see the mien of the Olympia," said Admiral Dewey, ^^and see 
how happy they are, though they have been shut up here four 'months.'' And the 
men did look jolly and bright, and proud of the Admiral as he of them, and they 
were pleased when he noticed, kindly, the hostile little monkey, who is the mascot, 
and the other day bit the Captain. 

The health of the boys was preserved at sea by systematic exercise. Not a 
transport crossed the Pacific that was not converted into a military school, and each 
floating schoolhouse had about 1,000 pupils. They were put through gymnastics 
and calisthenics when, as a rule, they were barefooted and wore no clothes but their 
undershirts and trousers. There was even a scarcity of suspenders. The drill- 
masters were in dead earnest, and their voices rang out until the manifestation of 
vocal capacity excited admiration. The boys had to reach suddenly for heaven with 
both hands and then bring their arms to their sides with sv/inging energy. Then 
they had to strike out right and left to the order "Eight!" "Left!" until the sergeant 
was satisfied. Next each foot had to be lifted and put down quickly at the word of 
command- then it was needful that the legs should be widely separated in a jump 
and closed up with vigor; then the spinal columns swayed forward and back and all 
the joints and muscles had something to do. This was no laughing matter to any 
one, though it w^as funny enough from the ordinary standpoint of civil life. This 
medicine was taken day after day, and seemed to vindicate itself. 

It was esteemed a good thing for the boys to perspire from exercise. There was 
no trouble, though, w^hen south and west of Honolulu, in having substantially Turk- 
isli baths in the bunks at night, and there were queer scenes on deck — men by hun- 
dreds scantily clothed and sleeping in attitudes that artists might have chosen to 
advantage for life studies. It was necessary for those who walked about, during the 
hours thus given to repose, where the enlisted men took their rest with their under- 
sliirts and drawers around them, to be careful not to tramp on the extended limbs. 
Once I feared I had hit a soldier's nose with my heavy foot when stepping over him 
in a low light, and was gratified that my heel had merely collided with a big boy*s 
thumb. He had gone to sleep with his head pTotected by his hand. I paused long 
enough to note that the sheltering hand if clinched would have been a mighty and 
smiting fist; and I was doubly pleased that I liad not tramped on his big nose. 



176 THE AMERICAX AR:\IY IX MANILA. 

Xot infrequently, when we were steaming along the 20tli parallel of north lati- 
tude — that is to saj, well in the torrid zone — and were wafted by the trade winds that 
were after us at about our own speed, heavy showers came up in the night and 
spoiled the luxurious content of those who were spread on the decks. The boys got 
iii good form through the longest journey an army ever made — for the distance is 
greater from the United States to the Philippines than from Spain — and every week 
the skill of a soldier in acquiring the lessons of the climate and the best methods of 
taking care of himself will become more useful, and the tendency will be to settle 
down to the business of soldiering, make the best of it and accept it as educational — - 
an experience having in it the elements of enduring enjoyments. ^^The days when 
I was in Manila, away down in the south seas, but a little way from the island from 
which came the wild man of Borneo," will be pleasant in remembrance, and there will 
be perpetually an honorable distinction in identification with an ambitious yet gen- 
erous enterprise, one of the most remarkable a nation can undertake — not excepting 
the Eoman conquests all around the ]\Iediterranean, and that touched the northern 
sea, invading England. 

In the later days of i\.ugust there were in the prisons of Manila, which answer to 
the penitentiary and jail in the xVmerican States, 2,200 prisoners, one of whom was a 
Spaniard! The prisons are divided only by a high wall and contain many compart- 
ments to assist in classification. There are considerable spaces devoted to airing 
the prisoners, and one in which the privileged are permitted to amuse themselves 
with games. The guard consisted, when I visited the place, of sixt3^-three soldiers 
from Pennsylvania. There were many women imprisoned. One who had been shut 
up for more than a year was taken into custody because she had attempted rather 
informally to retake possession of a house of which she had been proprietor and out 
of which she had been fraudulently thrown. Her crime was a hysterical assertion of 
her rights and her uninvited tenants were Spaniards. 

One of the buildings contained the criminals alleged to be desperate, and as they 
stood at the windows the chains on their right legs were in sight. It was plainly 
seen in several cases that the links of the chains used were about three inches long 
and that three or four turns were taken around the right ankle. In a group of pris- 
oners wJfiting for supper to be handed them in pans in the open air a large number 
v/ore chains. Many of the prisoners were incarcerated as insurgents, having offended 
by refusing to espouse the Spanish cause or by some other capital criminality hi that 
line of misconduct! A commission was investigating their cases and the Filipinos 
who liad not satisfied tlic Spanish requirements were represented by an able lawyei . 
who was well informed and disposed to do justice. Sixty-two of the inmates of thv 



THE AMERICAN AEMY IX MANILA. 177 

penitentiary held for discontent with the Spanish system of government were to be 
discharged as soon as the papers could be made out. 

Man}' most interesting questions arise in connection with the capitulation of the 
Spanish arm}'. It M^as agreed that the Spaniards, upon surrendering and giving up 
the public property, should be entitled to the honors of war. It was expressly 
understood that the arms the troops gave up w^ere to be retained. In case the Ameri- 
cans abandoned the islands or the Spaniards departed the rifles should be given them, 
and usage would seem to determine that this return of wapons must include the 
Mausers in the hands of the troops now^ prisoners of war and the cartridges they 
would carry if they took the field. 

Then arises a difficulty as to the precise meaning of the w^ords "public property." 
There were laid down by the Spaniards about 12,000 Mausers and Eemingtons, and 
there were 10,000 in the arsenals — 22,000 in all. It is admitted that 12,000 per- 
sonally surrendered rifles go baclv to the Spaniards, whether they or we go away from 
the islands — as one or the other is sure to do — but the 10,000 stand of arms in the 
arsenals come under the head of "public property," and so should be retained per- 
manently by the Americans. The number of ball cartridges a soldier starting out to 
make a march carries is 100. There were surrendered more than 500 rounds to the 
]nan. The public money was public property, of course, and General Greene de- 
manded the keys to the vault containing it. The Spanish authorities objected, but 
yielded after presenting a written protest. The money consisted of Spanish and 
Mexican dollars, a lot of silver bars and change fused into one mass, and some 
gold in the same state, also $247,000 in copper coin, which v/as regarded, under the 
old dispensation, good stufl to pay poor wages to poor men and w^omen. 

There are some fine points about customs. The American flag floats over the city, 
and the importers and exporters want to know^ what the charges are and how much 
the private concessions must be. Some of these people ran around for several davs 
v.ith the object of placing a few hundred Mexican dollars in the hands of officials, 
vrhere they would do the most good, and could not find anybody ready to confer 
special favors for hard cash. These pushing business men had been accustomed to 
meet calls for perquisites, and did not feel safe for a moment without complying with 
that kind of formality. They turned away embarrassed and disappointed, and were 
surprised to learn that they were on a ground floor that was wide enough to accommo- 
date everybody. 

It should be mentioned in this connection, also, a Mexican dollar passes in Manila 
for 50 cents American. The price of Mexican dollars in the banks of San Francisco 
and Honolulu is 46 and 47 cents. The way it works is illustrated in paying in a res- 



178 THE AMEEICAN ARMY IN MANILA. 

taurant for a lunch — say for two. If the account is $2 you put down a $5 United 
States gold piece and receive in change eight Mexican dollars. If you buy cigars at 
$40 per 1,000 a $20 xlmerican gold piece pays the $40 bill. There is now pretty free 
coinage of Mexican dollars and they answer admirably as 50-cent coins. That is one 
of the ways in which free coinage of silver removes prejudices against the white 
metal; no one thinks of objecting to a Mexican dollar as a half-dollar, and our boys, 
paid in American gold, have a feeling that their wages are raised because all over 
the city one of their dollars counts two in the settlement of debts. These useful 
American dollars are admitted free of duty. 

The headquarters of the American administration in Manila are in the city hall, 
situated in the walled city, with a park in front that plainly has been neglected for 
some time. It also fronts upon the same open square as the cathedral, while beyond 
are the Jesuit College and the Archbishop's palace. Just around the corner is a 
cclossal church, and a triangular open space that has a few neglected trees and ought 
to be beautiful but is not. A street railroad passes between the church and the 
triangle, and the mule power is sufficient to carry at a reasonable rate a dozen 
Spanish officers and as many Chinamen. The fare is 1 cent American — that is, 2 
cents Philippine — and the other side of the river you are entitled to a transfer, but 
the road is short and drivers cheap. There is a system of return coupons that I do 
not perfectly understand. The truth about the street railway system is that there is 
very little of it in proportion to the size of the city, but the average ride costs about 1 
cent. If the Americans stay there is an opening for a trolley on a long line. 

There is no matter of business that does not depend upon the question: Will 
the Americans stay? If they do all is well; if they do not all is ill, and enterprise 
not to be talked of. 

The most important bridge across the Pasig is the bridge of Spain. The street 
railway crosses it. The carriages and the coolies, too, must keep to the left. It is the 
thoroughfare between the new and old cities, and at all hours of the day is thronged. 
It is a place favored by the native gig drivers to whip heavily laden coolies out of the 
way. A big Chinaman with powerful limbs, carrying a great burden, hastens to give 
the road to a puny creature driving a puny pony, lashing it with a big whip, and 
scrambles furiously away from a two-wheeler whirling along a man able to pay a 
10-cent fare. 

In other days when one passed this bridge he faced the botanical gardens, which 
had a world-wide reputation, an attraction being a wonderful display of orchids. 
There were also beautiful trees; now there are only stumps, disfigurements and deso- 
lation — some of the horrors of war. The gardens were laid waste by the Spaniards 



THE AMERICA:^ ARMY IN MANILA. 179 

as a milit&ry precaution. As they seem to have known that they could not or would 
not put up a big fight for the city, what was the use of the destructiveness displayed 
in the gardens, parks and along the boulevards? The fashion of taking a garden and 
making a desert of it and calling it one of the military necessities of war is, how- 
ever, not peculiar to the chieftains of Spain. 

Crossing the bridge of Spain to the walled city and turning to the right there 
are well-paved streets bordered with strips of park beside the river, thai: is rushing 
the same way if you are going to headquarters; and the object that tells where to 
turn oS. to find the old gateway through the wall, with a drawbridge over the grassy 
moat, is a Monument to Alphonse, whose memory it is the habit of these people to 
celebrate. Approaching the city hall (headquarters) there is a white-walled hospital 
to note; then comes a heavy mass of buildings on a narrow street, and the 
small square already styled in this article a park, and we arrive at the grand en- 
trance of the official edifice. The room devoted to ceremony is so spacious that one 
must consent that magnitude is akin to grandeur. There is the usual double stair- 
way and a few stone steps to overcome. On the right and left under the second lift 
of stairs were corded the Spanish Mausers and Eemingtons and many boxes of car- 
tridges. I have several times noticed soldiers tramping on loose cartridges as though 
they had no objection at all to an explosion. You can tell the Mauser ammunition, be- 
cause the cartridges arein clips of five, and the little bullets famous for their long flight 
are covered with nickel. The Eemington bullets are bigger and coated with brass. 
Something has been said to the effect that the Remington balls used by the Span- 
iards are poisonous and that it is uncivilized to manufacture them. The object 
of the Mauser and Eemington system in covering the bullets, the one with nickel 
and the other with brass, is not to poison, but to prevent the lead from fouHng the 
rifles. The point is almost reached in modern guns of 2,000 and 3,000 yards range 
where the friction of the gun barrel and the speed of the mi-ssile at the muzzle are 
sufficient to fuse unprotected lead, and at any rate so much of the soft material 
would soon be left in the grooves as to impair accuracy and endanger the structure of 
the arm. 

Eight ahead when the first stairs are cleared is a splendid hall, with a pair of 
gilded lions on a dais, and some of the boys had adorned these beasts with crowns of 
theatrical splendor. The arms of Spain are conspicuous, and in superb medallions 
illustrious warriors, statesmen, authors, artists and navigators, look down from the 
walls upon desks now occupied by American officers. Above this floor the stairs 
are blocks of hardwood, the full widtli of the stairway and the height of the step, 
and this earthquake precaution does not detract from the dignity of the building, for 



180 THE AMEEICAi!^ AEMY IN MANILA. 

tiie- woodwork is massiye and handsome. A marvelons effect might be produced 
in some of the marble palaces of private citizens in our American cities by the con- 
struction of stairways with the iron-hard and marble-brilHant wood that is abundant 
m Puerto Eico, Cuba and Luzon. The hall in which the city council met, now the 
place of the provost-marshars court, is furnished in a style that puts to shame the 
■frugality displayed in the council chambers of our expensively governed iimerican 
cities, where men of power pose as municipal economists. 

In the elevated chair of the President, faced .by the array of chairs of the 
Spanish councilmen, or aldermen, sits the provost-marshal judge, and before him come 
the soldiers who have forgotten themselves and the culprits arrested by the patrol. 
On the wall above him is a full-length likeness of the Queen Eegent — a beautiful, 
womanly figure, with a tender and anxious mother's solicitous face. She looks down 
with sad benignity upon the American military government. There is also a por- 
trait of the boy king, who becomes slender as he gains height, and rather sickly 
than strong. It may be that too much care is taken of him. 

In the corner room at the end of the corridor Major-General Otis received at 
his desk the news that Generals Merritt and Greene were ordered home, and that 
he was the major-general commanding and the chief of the civil, as well as the military 
department of the government. He had already found much to do and tackled the 
greater task with imperturbable spirit and a habit of hard work with, his friends say, no 
fault but a habit that is almost impracticable of seeing for himself almost everything 
he is himself held responsible for. If he has a weakness of that sort he has a rare 
opportunity to indulge it to the full extent of his personal resources. He certainly 
dispatches business rapidly, decides the controverted points quickly and has a clear 
eye for the field before him. His record is a good one. When the w^ar of the States 
came on he was a New York lawyer — his home is -at Eochester. Near the close of 
the war he was wouncjed on the Weldon road, along which Grant was extending 
liis left wing to envelop Petersburg. He was struck by a musket ball almost an inch 
from the end of the nose, and the course of it was through the bones of the face 
under the right eye, passing out under the right ear. He was "shot through the 
head,'' and suffered intensely for a long time, but maintained his physical vitality 
and mental energy. His face is but slightly marked by tliis dreadful wound. He 
has been a hard student all his life, and is an accomplished soldier, as well as an 
experieuced lawyer. His judicial ser\dces in court-martials have been highly esti- 
mated. Altogether he is well equipped for executing the various duties of his posi- 
tion. He will ^Tiold the fort in good shape." In an adjacent room. Assistant Ad- 
jutant-General Strong, son of the ex-mayor of New York, a young man of much ex- 



TiiK A:\rKin(AX akmy ix Manila. isi 

perience in the national guard and a sharp sliooter, sticks to husine&s with zeal and 
knowledge, and in a very few days established a reputation as a helper. 

So much has been said in disparagement of the *^sons of somebodies" that it is 
a pleasure to put in evidence the cleverness and intelligent industry of Captain 
Strong, late of the G9th New York, and of Captain Coudert, of Xew York. 

General Merritt took possession of the palace of the governor-general, overlook- 
ing the river, a commodious establishment, with a pretentious gate on the street, a 
front yard ful] of shrubbery and rustling with trees, a drive for carriages and doors 
for their occupants at the side and a porte cochere, as the general said with a twinkle 
of his eye, for the steam launch wliich was a perquisite of the Governor. The com- 
manding general of the Philippine expedition enjoyed the life on the river, along 
which boats were constantly passing, carrying country supplies to the city and 
returning. The capacity of canoes to convey fruit and vegetables and all that the 
market called for was an unexpected disclosiu'e. There were unfailing resources 
up the river or a multitude of indications were inaccurate. The General's palace is 
more spacious than convenient; the dining room designed for stately banquets, 
but the furniture of the table v/as not after the manner of feasts, though the best the 
country afforded, and the supply of meat improved daily, while the fruit told of 
the kindly opulence of the tropics. 

There was a work of art in the palatial headquarters that the commanding gen- 
eral highly appreciated — a splendid but somber painting of the queen regent in her 
widow's weeds, holding the boy king as a baby on her right shoulder, her back turned 
to the spectator, gloomy drapery flowing upon the carpet, her profile and pale 
brow and dark and lustrous hair shown, her gaze upon the child and his young eyes 
iixed upon the spectator. This picture has attracted more attention than any other 
in Manila, and the city is rich in likenesses of the queen mother and the royal boy, 
who, without fault have upon them the heavy sorrows of Spain in an era of mis- 
fortune and humiliation; and it will take some time for the Spanish people, highly 
or lowly placed, to realize that the loss of colonies, as they have held them, is a bless- 
ing to the nation and offers the only chance of recuperation and betterment in Spain's 
reputation and relations with the world. 

The governor-general's palace, with General Merritt for General, was a workshop, 
and the highly decorated apartments, lofty and elaborate, were put to uses that had 
an appearance of being incongruous. The cot of the soldier, shrouded in a mosquito 
bar, stood in the midst of sumptuous fttrniturc, before towering mirrors in showy 
frames, and from niches looked down marble statues that would have been more 
at home in the festal scenes of pompous life in the sleepy cities of dreamy lands. 



182 THE AMEEICA^T ARMY IX MANILA. 

There was no more striking combination than a typewriting machine mounted on 
a magnificent table^ so thick and resplendent with gold that it seemed one mass of 
the precious metal — not gilt, but solid bullion — and the marble top had the irides- 
cent glow of a sea shell. This was in the residence of the General, his dining and 
smoking rooms and bedrooms for himself and staff, the actual headquarters being 
next door in the residence of the secretary-general. Here was a brilliant exhibition 
of mirrors, upon some of which were paintings of dainty design and delicate execu- 
tion, queerly effective. The tall glasses stood as if upon mantles. There were other- 
glasses that duplicated their splendors; through the open doors down the street, 
which was the one for the contemplation of the gorgeous — and down the street 
means into the modern end of the city — was the residence of the Spanish Admiral 
of the annihilated fleet, Montijo. It had been the property of and was the creation 
of a German, who got rich and got away in good time with $1,000,000 or more, sell- 
ing his house to one of the rich Chinese, who had the fortune, good, bad or in- 
different, to become the landlord of the Admiral whose ships disappeared in a vast 
volume of white vapor on the May morning when the Americans came and intro- 
duced themselves. 

General Greene's headquarters were in the house the German merchant built, 
the Chinese millionaire bought, and the Admiral, without a fleet since the 1st of May, 
rented. The furnishing was rich; there were frescoes that were aglow with the tropic 
birds and window curtains that were dreams. The vast mansions of the ex-officials 
were not, however, such as would have been sought as accommodations for the man- 
agement of the military and other affairs, and there was much lacking to comfort; 
but as the hotels after the siege were not tolerable, the officers had to discover 
houses in which they could develop resources, and the public property was that of 
those who conquered to the extent to Avhich it had belonged to those displaced. 

The Americans got out of the chaotic hotels soon as possible, for there were 
some things in them simply not endurable. They rent houses and employ 
servants and set up housekeeping. The newspaper correspondents have been driven 
to this, and they are comparatively happy. They have found ponies almost a ne- 
cessary of life, and food that is fair is attainable, while the flowing hydrants remove 
a good deal of privation and apprehension. The water is from an uncontaminated 
stream, and though slightly roiled after heavy rainfalls, it is not poisonous, and 
that is what many American and European cities cannot truthfully say of their 
water supplies. The demand for houses by the Americans has raised the views of the 
proprietors. The street on which the official Spaniards meant to flourish, as Weyler, 
Blanco and others had done before them, and had not time to reap a harvest of 




MILITARY HEROES OF SANTIAGO AND PORTO RICO. 
(Photo of Roosevelt Cop.vrijjhted bv Rockwood.) 
<Photo of Shafter Copyrighted by Chas. Parker.) 




NAVAL HEROES OF SANTIAGO. 
(Photo of Hobson Copyrighted by Falk.) 



THE AMEEICAN ARMY IN MANILA. 1S3 

plunder before the days of doom came^ Avould be called by the ciiizens of 
Cleveland, 0., the Euclid avenue of the town. It runs out to the old fort where 
the Spaniards made their stand "for the honor of the arms of Spain." The English 
and German and Chinese successful men reside in this cpiarter. The majority of 
those who have provided themselves with houses by the river and fronting on the 
street most approved, looking out through groves and gardens, are Chinese half- 
castes, claiming Chinese fathers and Philippine mothers. These are the most ra- 
pacious and successful accumulators, and they would all be glad to see the Americans 
stay, now that they are there, and have shown themselves so competent to appreciate 
desirable opportunities and understand the ways and means, the acquirements and 
the dispensations of prosperity as our troops entered the city by the principal resi- 
dence street, it was noticed that guards were left at all the houses that displayed the 
British flag — a reward for English courtesy, and the feehng of the troops that the 
British are our friends. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE WHITE UNIFORMS OF OUR HEROES IN THE TROPICS. 

The Mother Hubbard Street Fashion in Honolulu, and That of Riding Astride — • 
Spoiling Summer Clothes in Manila Mud— The AVhite Raiment of High Offi- 
cers — Drawing the Line on Nightshirts — Ashamed of Big Toes — Dewey and 
Merritt as Figures of Show— The Boys in White. 

Recent experiences of the United States excite attention to the fashions of the 
tropics. In Florida our soldiers who invaded Cuba were in a degree and sense accli- 
mated for the temperature of the island that has been for so long "so near, and 
yet so far/' so wet and yet so hot. But the troops of the Philippine expedition were 
not prepared by the chilly blasts from the mountains of California for the ex- 
ceedingly soft airs of Hawaii, though Honolulu was a pleasant introductory school 
to Manila. Our new possession two thousand miles from the continent, has 
been preparing for the destiny realized for two generations, and the American ladies 
who dwell in the islands of perpetual summer in the Pacific^ have not submitted 
wholly to the dominion of the climate and composed themselves to languish in loose 
and gaazy garments when on the streets. But the Honolulu women, in general, 
who largely are in the possession of luxuriant proportions, are enveloped in the 
blandishments of Mother Hubbards, and do not even tie strings about themselves 
to show where they would have spectators to infer their waists ought to be. They 
go about flowing and fluttering in freedom, and have all the advantages due the 
total abandonment of corsets, and suffer none of the horrors of tight lacing re- 
corded in medical publications. The Mother Hubbard gown is not without its at- 
tractions, but we can hardly say they are too obvious, and slender figures are lost in 
voluminous folds that are billowy in the various w^ays and means of embracing the 
evolutions of beauty. And the native singers seem fully justified in throwing the full 
force of their lungs and the rapture of their souls into the favorite chorus, "The 
Honolulu Girls Are Good Enough for Me." The refrains of the Hawaiian songs 
are full of a flavor of pathos, and there is the cry of sorrows, that seem to be in 
the very air, but belong to other ages. The Honolulu females of all races have 
flung away side saddles with their corsets, and bestride horses and mules with the 
confidence in the rectitude of their inlenti.ons that so besets and befits the riders of 
bicycles. People would stare with disapproval in Honolulu to see a woman riding 

184 



THE WHITE UNIFOEMS OF OUE HEROES IN THE TROPICS. 1^5 

with both legs on the same side of a horse, and those wandering abroad in the vol- 
uminous folds of two spacious garments disapprove the unusual and unseemly 
spectacle. 

It is as hot in some parts of Texas, Arizona and California as in an}' of the isl- 
ands of the seas of the South, but we had not been educated in the art of clothing 
armies for service in the torrid zone, until the Philippine expedition was under- 
taken, and we were making ready for challenging the Spaniards in their Cuban fast- 
nesses, when it speedily was in evidence that we wanted something more than blue 
cloth and blankets. The Spanish white and blue stuff and straw hats were to 
our eyes unsightly and distasteful, and we began with a variety of goods. Our army 
hats were found good, but we tried nearly all things before holding onto anything 
as sufficient for trousers and coats. The officers on long journeys speedily resolved, 
if we may judge from the results, that the suit most natty and nice for wear within 
twenty degrees of the Equator was the perfect white, and so the snowy figures below 
shoulder straps became familiar. This did not, of course, indicate acute stages of 
active service. Never were campaigns more destructive of good looks in clothing, 
than those in assailing Santiago and Manila, in which the thin stuffs were tested in 
torrential rain and ditches full of mud. The compensation was that the volunteers 
fresh from the camps of instruction, put on in a few days the appearance of veteran 
campaigners. In Manila there was an edifying contrast between the Spaniards who 
had surrendered and the Americans who did not pause when the Mausers were fired 
into their ranks, not with the faintest hope of successful resistance, but for the 
"honor of Spain." The Spanish soldiers had been well sheltered and came out in 
fairly clean clothes, while the soldiers of our nation closed up dingy ranks, suited 
for hunting in swamps and thickets, their coats, hats and trousers the color of 
blasted grass and decayed leaves. The passage of' the line from the new to the old 
clothes was sudden, and the gallant boys in blue were not in the least disconsolate 
over the discoloration of their uniforms, having reached the stage where it was a 
luxury to sleep on a floor or pavement, without wasting time to find a soft or 
quiet spot. 

The sombre taste of the Spanish ladies in dress, so famous and effective that 
the black mantillas and. skirts, and the fans that do such execution in the hands 
of the dark-eyed coquettes, as to have sway where empires have been lost and won — 
control Cuba, but does not dominate the Philippines. The Pope of the period, it will 
be remembered, divided the new worlds discovered by the navigators of Spain and 
Portugal, awarding to the best of his knowledge, by a line drawn south from the 
southern shore of the Caribbean Sea. Portufjal holdins: that to the eastward and 



186 THE WHITE IJNIFOEMS OF OUR HEEOES IX THE TEOPICS. 

'apaiii that to the westward. Hence the separation of South America between 
Brazil and the rest of the central and south American states^ to await the inevitable 
«nd of the evolutions that were the revolutions of independence. Magellines, a 
Portuguese^ who, being slighted in his own country, went over to the Spaniards, 
md pointed out that by sailing west the east would be attained, and so found the 
straits that bear his name, and the Ladrones and Philippines, annihilating the 
Papal boundary line by taking and breaking it from the rear. 

The conquest of the Philippines by the Spaniards has not been complete as a 
military achievement or the enforcement of the adoption of customs and costumes 
iccording to the habits and taste of the conquerors, who have nibbled at the edges 
•af the vast archipelago, greater in its length and breadth and its natural riches than 
ihe West Indies. The Spanish ladies in the Philippines are dressed as in the an- 
ient cities of their own renowned peninsula. The Filipinos are of the varied 
styles that adorn Africans and the Asiatics. They are gay in colors and curious 
m the adjustment of stuffs, from the flimsy jackets to the fantastic skirts. The first 
^sential in the dress of a Filipino is a jacket cut low, the decolette feature being 
stscured to some extent by pulling out one shoulder and covering the other, taking 
Ihe chances of the lines that mark the concealment and disclosure of breast and back. 
There is no expression of immodesty. The woman of the Philippines is sad as she 
s swarthy, and her melancholy eyes are almost always introspective, or glancing far 
away, and revising the disappointed dreams of long ago. Profounder grief than is 
lead in the faces of bronze and copper no mourning artist has wrought nor gloomy, 
poet written. Below the jacket, the everlasting blazer, is a liberal width of cloth 
lightly drawn about the loins, stomach and hip's, making no mistake in revelations 
©f the original outline drawings, or the flexibilities which the activities display. 
There are two skirts, an outer one that opens in front, showing the tunic, which is 
®f a color likely to be gaudy and showing strangely with the outer one. The 
leet are exposed, and if not bare, clothed only in clumsy slippers with toe pieces, and 
neither heels nor uppers. Women carry burdens on their heads, and walk erect 
and posed as if for snap photographs. The young girls are fond of long hair, 
black as cannel coal, and streaming in a startling cataract to the hips. It seems that 
the crop of hair is unusually large, and it shines with vitality, as the breeze lifts it 
in the sunshine. The Philippine boys are still more lightly clad than the girls, who 
iave an eye to queer combinations of colors, and the revelation of the lines that 
distinguish the female form without flagrant disclosure. There is much Philippine 
dressing that may under all the surroundings be called modest, and the prevalent ex- 
ssion of the Filipino is that of fixed but bewildered grief. The males are rather 



THE WHITE UNIFORMS OF OUR HEROES IN THE TROPICS. 18T 

careless, and display unstinted the drawings of legs, that are copper-colored 
and more uniform in tint than symmetry. Two or three rags do a surprisingly ex- 
tensive service, and all the breezes cause the fluttering of fantastic but scanty 
raiment. It is a comfort to return to a country where people wear clothing not 
as a flimsy and inadequate disguise. What will be the influence of our armie? 
sent to the tropics, upon the dress of Americans? It is a question that may be 
important. The "wheel" has introduced knickerbockers and promises to result iia 
knee breeches. On the transports that have traversed the Pacific the soldiers were 
fond of taking exercise in undershirts and drawers only and they swarmed from their 
bunks at night, to sleep on deck, sometimes condescending to spread blankets t© 
take the edge off the cruelty of the hard wood, but reluctant to be encumbered 
with undershirts. Their favorite night dress was drawers only, and they acteJ 
upon the false theory that one cannot take cold at sea. The authority of offlcerj 
was often necessary to impress the average soldier that he ought to have an under- 
shirt between his skin and the sky. The boys were during their long voyage verj 
sparing in the use of shoes and stockings, and it has perhaps never before oc- 
curred in American experiences that there was such an opportunity to study the 
infinite variety of the big toe, and, indeed, of all the toes. In active army service 
the care of the feet is essential. The revelations on shipboard disclose the evils of ill- 
fitting shoes to be most distracting. One of the claims of West Point for higfe 
consideration is in teaching the beauty of white trousers, and our tropical armj 
experiences will extend the fashion. When General Merritt and Admiral Dewey 
parted on the deck of the China in Manila harbor, both were clad in spotless white^ 
their caps, coats and trousers making a showy combination. There was also a group, 
of sea captains who had gathered to give the Captain of the China a good send-ofl[y 
and they with the staff officers, were all in radiant white. There was not a boy 
in blue among them. The illustrious General and Admiral reminded me of Gabriel. 
Ravel, when in his glory as The White Knight. It would be hard to say which wore 
the nattier cap, but that of the Admiral was of the more jaunty cut, while the 
General — gold cord for a band and gold buttons, especially became his blue eyes. 
If the officers of the army, navy and transports could be photographed as they stood 
in dazzling array, as if hewn from marble, the fashion plate resulting would be in- 
comparably attractive, and in the summers to come we shall find among the in- 
fluences of our tropical adventure and possessions a heightening of the colors worn 
by American ladies, and a whitening of the suits of gentlemen, involving the ne- 
cessity of "calling in" white coats, as well as straw hats on stated days in early 
September. 



CHAPTEE Xiy. 

A MAETYK TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 

Dr. Jose Eizal, the Most Distinguished Literary Man of the Philippines^ Writer of 
History, Poetry, PoHtical Pamphlets, and N'ovels, Shot on the Liineta of 
Manila — A Likeness of the Martyr — The Scene of His Execution, from a 
Photograph— His Wife Married the Day Before His Death — Poem Giving 
His Farewell Thoughts, Written in His Last Hours— The Works That Cost 
Him His Life— The Vision of Friar Eodriguez. 

There is history, romance and tragedy in the martyrdom of Dr. Eizal, whose ex- 
ecution by shooting on the Luneta two years ago is a notable incident of the cruel- 
ties of Spanish rule. This was on account of the scholarship, the influence, the 
literary accomplishments, and the personal distinction of the man. Dr. Eizal was 
easily the foremost writer his race and country has produced. He was a poet^ nov- 
elist, political essayist, and historian, and his execution was for the crime of loving 
his country, opposing the Spaniards, criticising and lampooning the priests. He is 
called the Tagalo Martyr, for he was of the tribe of Malay origin, the most numerous 
and rebellious in the Philippine Islands. His fate was shocking. He was an intelli- 
gent, learned man, an enthusiastic patriot, who had been educated in Spain and 
France. For 'writing a book against Spanish oppression he was exiled to the Island 
of Dapitan. There he met a young woman of Irish parentage, with whom he fell 
in love. They were engaged to be married, when, on some pretext, the Doctor 
was brought back to Manila, sent to Madrid to be tried, and then sent back to 
Manila. The unhappy girl to whom he was betrothed tells the rest of the story: 

"Everyone knew that Dr. Eizal was innocent. All that could be brought against 
him was the publication of his book, and the Spanish officials who tried him had 
never even read it. Nevertheless, he was condemned to death. I then asked per- 
mission to be married to him, and they granted my request, thinking to add to 
the horror of his martyrdom. The marriage was celebrated by a friar the same day 
on which he was sentenced. I passed the whole night on my knees in prayer before 
the prison door, which shut my husband from me. When morning dawned, the 
Doctor came out, surrounded by soldiers, his hands bound behind his back. They 
took him to the Luneta, the fashionable promenade of the city, where all military 
executions take place. The lieutenant in command of the firing party asked my 

188 




FILIPIxNTA PREPARING FOR A SIESTA. 




LOADING BUFFALOES IN LUZON WITH PRODUCE. 



r, 




THE PHILIPPINE AUTHOR-MARTYR, HIS WIFE AND HIS EXECUTION. 



A MARTYR TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 189 

iiusLand where he would prefer to be shot. He replied 'Through the heart.' 'Im- 
possible,' said the heuteuant. 'Such a favor is granted only to men of rank. Y^ou 
will be shot in the back.' A moment after my husband was dead. The soldiers 
shouted, 'Hurrah for Spain/ and I, 'Hurrah for the Philippines and death to Spain.' 
I asked for the body. It was refused me. Then I swore to avenge his death. I 
secured a revolver and dagger and joined the rebels. They gave me a Mauser rifle, 
and the Philippines will be free." 

In his poem, filled with his last thoughts — his exalted dreams that had faded, 
his patriotic sentiments that were bloody dust and ashes, his love for the woman he 
was allowed to marry a few hours before he was shot, his woeful love for his troop 
of devoted friends, who would have died for him and wdth him if the sacrifice then 
and there had not been hopeless — it will be discovered that he was a true poet, and 
we give one of his stories that was hostile to the orders of the Church, and a satire 
on Spanish rule, showing why he was a martyr. 

The following is a prose translation from the Spanish of the poem Dr. Rizal wrote 
the night before he was executed: 

MY LAST THOUGHTS. 

Farewell! my adored country; region beloved of the sun; pearl of the Orient 
sea; our lost Eden! I cheerfully give for thee my saddened life,, and had it been 
brighter, happier and more rosy, I would as willingly give it for thy sake. 

LTnhesitatingly and without regret others give thee their lives in frenzied fight on 
the battlefield. But what matter the surroundings! Be they cypress, laurel or lilies, 
scaffold or open country, combat or cruel martyrdom, it is all the same, when for 
country and home's redress. 

I die while watching the flushing skies announce through dark mantle the 
advent of a day. Should it need purple to tint its dawn, here is my blood; I gladly 
will shed it if only it be gilded by a ray of new-born light. 

My dreams while only a boy, and when of vigor full, a youth, were always to 
see thee, jew6l of the Orient sea! thy black eyes dry, thy frownless face uplifted., 
and spotless thine honor. 

Dream of my life! My fervent anxiety! Shouts the soul that soon is to depart. 
Hail! It is glorious to fall to give thee flight; to die to give thee life; to die under thy 
skies, and in thy maternal bosom eternally to sleep. 

Shouldst thou find some day over my grave, a lonesome, humble flower, blossom- 



,190- A MAETYR TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 

ing through the dense foliage, take it to your lips and kiss my soul. Let me feel upon 
my forehead under the cold tomb your warm and tender "breath. 

Let the moon with her soft and silent light watch over me; let dawn spread 
its fulgent splendor; let the wind moan with solemn murmur. And should a bird 
descend and repose upon mj cross, let it there proclaim a canticle of peace. 

Let the burning sun evaporate the dew, spreading through space the notes of my 
songs. Let a friendly being mourn my early end, praying on calm evenings, when 
thou also, oh, dear country! should pray to God for me. 

Pray for all those who died unhonored; for those who suffered unequaled tor- 
ments; for our jDoor mothers who silently grieve; for orphans and for widows; for 
prisoners in torture; and pray for thyself that thou mayest attain thy final re- 
demption. 

And when the dark shades of night enwrap the cemetery, and the dead are left 
alone to watch, do not disturb their rest, do not disturb their mystery. Shouldst 
thou hear chords of a zither, it is I, beloved country! who sings to thee. 

And when my grave, by all forgotten, is marked by neither cross nor stone, let 
the ploughman scatter its mould; and my ashes before returning to nothing will 
become the dust of your soil. 

Then, I will not mind if thou castest me into oblivion. Thy atmosphere, thy 
space, thy valleys I will cross. A vibrating, limpid note I will be in your ear; aroma, 
color, rumor, song, a sigh, constantly repeating the essence of my faith. 

My idolized country! grief of my griefs! My adored Philippines! Hear my last 
farewell. I leave them all with thee; my fathers and my loves. I go where there 
are no slaves, no oppressors, no executioners; where faith is not death; where He 
who reigns is God. 

Farewell! fathers and brothers, parts of my soul! Friends of my infancy in the 
lost home. Give thanks that I should rest from the fatiguing day. Farewell, sweet 
stranger, my friend, my joy. Farewell, beloved beings. To die is to rest. 

JOSE RIZAL. 
THE VISION OF FPJAR RODRIGUEZ. 

Comfortably seated in an arm chair one night, satisfied with himself as well as with 
his supper. Friar Jose Rodriguez dreamed of the many pennies that the sale of 
his little books was drawing from the pockets of the Filipinos, when suddenly, and 
as if by enchantment, the yellow light of the lamp gave a brilliant, white flash, the 
air was filled with soft perfume, and without his being able to explain hovr or 
wherefrom, a man appeared. 



A MARTYE TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 191 

This was an old man of medium height^ dark complected and thin, whose white 
beard was a contrast to his glittering vivacious eyes, which gave his face extreme 
animation. Over his shoulder he wore a long cape; a mitre on his head and a crosier 
in his hand gave him the aspect of a Bishop. 

At sight of him, Friar Rodriguez yawning, murmured: 

"Dreams of my fertile imagin — !" 

The vision did not permit him to finish the exclamation, but gave him a whack 
between the shoulders. 

"Eh! This is no joke!'^ exclaimed Friar Rodriguez, stroking with one hand the 
afflicted part while with the other he rubbed his eyes. 

"I see! It is no dream! But partner!'^ 

Incensed at such familiarity, the strange personage began poking Friar Rodriguez 
severely with his crosier on the stomach. The latter, satisfied by this time that 
the thrashing was in earnest, exclaimed: 

"Here! Here! Friar Pedro (Peter) — Is that the way you cancel indulgencies? 
That was not the agreement." 

The strange Bishop, aroused to a high pitch of anger, stopped his poking and 
started to knock Friar Rodriguez on the head, believing it to be a more sensitive 
part. Unfortunately, Friar Rodriguez's head was too hard for anything, and the 
crosier fell, broken in two pieces. At last! said the poor friar, who, pale and deadly 
frightened, had fallen on his knees and was tr^ang to creep away on all fours. 

At sight of his pitiful condition, the stranger seemed satisfied, and, placing on 
a table the broken crosier, said with contempt: 

"Homo sine homine, membra sine spiritu! Et iste appellatur filius mens!" 

At the sound of that potent voice and language, unknown to him. Friar Rod- 
riguez appeared confounded. The stranger could not be Friar Pedro (Peter) nor any 
brother in disguise! Impossible! 

"Et tamen (the stranger continued), tanta est vanita vestra^ ut ante me Patrem 
vestrum — sed video, loguor et non audis!" 

And shaking in disgust his head, the vision continued speaking in Castillian, 
but with a foreign accent. 

"And are you they who call themselves my sons? Has your haughtiness reached 
such a degree that you not only pretend to be feared and worshiped by governors and 
governed, but neither recognize nor respect me, whose name you dishonor, and 
whose condignity you abuse? How do I find you? Insolent with the unfortunate 
and cowardly towards those who do not fear you! Surge et audi!" 



192 A MARTYE TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 

His voice was so imperative and his command so expressive^, that Friar Rodriguez, 
although shaldng with tremor, made every effort to stand against a corner of the 
room. 

Moved by this proof of obedience, so rarely found amongst those who make a 
vow of humility, the stranger, full of contempt, repressed a sigh and proceeded in a 
more familiar manner, but without losing dignity. 

^Tor you and for your nonsense I have been obliged to leave that region, and 
come here! And what trouble I had to distinguish and find you amongst the others! 
With but little difference, you are all alike. ^Empty heads and replete stomachs!' 
UP THERE, they did not cease to tease me about you all and most especially on 
your account. It was useless to appear unconcerned. It was not only Lopez de Re- 
calde (Ignatius of Loyole) who with his eternal smile and humble looks made fun 
of me; nor Domingo (Dominic) with his aristocratic pretensions and little stars of 
false jewelry on his forehead, who laughed at me; but even the great simpleton of 
Francisco (Francis), do you understand? tried to poke fun at me; at me, who has 
thought, argued and written more than all of them together! 

'^Your order is great and powerful," said Ignatius, bending his head. '^^It re- 
sembles one of the Egyptian p3Tamids; great at the base (you are the base), but 
the higher it goes the smaller it becomes — what a difference between the base and the 
apex!" he murmured, while walking away. "Doctor," said Dominic, "why did you 
not do with your science as I did with the nobility I left as inheritance to my sons? 
We would all be better off!" 

"Mon ami, came and said Francis. If God should order me again to earth, to 
preach as before amongst brutes and animals, I would preach in your convents." 
And after saying this he roared in such a manner that although small and thin, it 
seemed as though he would burst. 

"In vain I answered them that their sons were no better than you are, and that 
were we to look for skeletons in the closets, we had better wall every crevice. But 
of no use. How could I argue against three, moreover, having you to defend! Three, 
did I say? Why! Even Peter, the old fisherman, attracted by the laughter, left 
his porter's lodge and came to upbraid me for the trick you have played on his 
priests, taking away from them all their parishes, regardless of the fact that they 
had been in these islands long before you, and that they were the first to baptis& 
in Cebu and in Luzon. 

"Of course," he said, "as my sons are lazy and in dissension among themselves, 



A MAETYR TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 19a 

and yonr= lie and shout louder^ tliey make themselves believed by the ignorant. But 
I shall be glad when my descendants are extinct." 

^'And so shall I! And I! I wish it was all over with mine!" shouted at once sev- 
eral voices. 

"But old Peter's revenge did not stop at that. Yesterday he played a hard joke 
on me. He not only confiscated a package that a Tagalo (*) brought with him, 
but instead of directing him to the imbecile's department, he took him where we 
all were. The poor Tagalo carried with him a large collection of little books writleii 
by you, which were given him by his Priest, who told him they represented so much 
indulgency for his next life. As soon as the Indian had arrived everyone UP 
THERE knew he had brought books written by an Augustinian monk, and they 
were snatched away. I tried to hide myself, but I could not. What laughter and 
what jokes! The little angels came in a body; the Celestial Father's Orchestra lost 
its time; the Virgins, instead of watching their music sheets read the books and sang 
most discordantl}', and even old Anthony's little pig began grunting and twisting 
his tail. 

"I felt ashamed; I could see every one point their finger at me and laugh. 
But, in spite of all this Zarathustra, the grave and serious Zarathustra, did not 
laugh. With a humihating pride he asked me: 

" Ts that your son, he who pretends that my religion is paganish, and that I 
am a pagan? Have your sons degenerated to such a degree as to confound my pure 
religion, root of the most perfect creeds, with PoMheism and Idolatry? Do they 
know that paganism is derived from pagani, which means inhabitant of the fields, 
who always were faithful to the Greek and Roman Polytheism? You may answer 
that they do not know Latin! If so, make then speak more modestly. Tell them 
that paganus comes from pagus, from which the words pages, payes, paien, paese, pais 
(country), are derived. Tell those unfortmnate that the Zend-Avesta religion was 
never professed by the rural inhabitants of the Roman country. Tell them tliat my 
religion is monotheist, even more so than the Roman Catholic religion, which not 
only accepted the dualism of my creed, but has deified several creatures. Tell them 
that Paganism in its widest and most corrupted sense, duly meant Polytheism; 
that neither my religion nor that of Moses nor Mohammed were -ever Pagan religions. 
Tell them to read j^our own works, where in every page you refer to the Pagans. Re- 
peat to them that which you said in speaking of the religion of the Manechees (a 



(*) Tagalo. — Name of one of the tribes of Indians inhabiting the Philippine 
Islands. — Trans. Note. 



194 A MARTYR TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 

corruption of my doctrine by you professed) which influenced your works and prevails 
yet in your religion, and which at one time caused the Roman Catholic Church 
to vacillate. Yes; I linked the principle of Good and Evil together — Ahura-Mazda; 
God! But this is not to admit of two Gods, as you, yourself said. To speak of health 
and sickness is not to admit two healths. And what? Have they not copied my 
principle of evil in Satan, prince of darkness? Tell them that if they do not know 
Latin to at least study the religions, since they fail to recognize the true one!' 

"Thus spoke Zarathustra, or Zoroaster. Then, Voltaire — Voltaire, who had heard 
what you were saying about his death, accosted me, and grasping me by the hand, 
effusively thanked me. 

"^Vhyso?' I asked him. 

" ^Yonr sons, mon cher Docteur de I'Eglise,' he answered, ^have proved and con- 
tinue proving by facts, that which I maintained. And what was it that you main- 
tained? That besides being ignorant, they were liars. 

"To this I could not reply, for he was right. You should know that he died when 
84 years of age, possessed of all his faculties, and wdth so lucid a mind that when 
nearing his end and being importuned to make confession, he said: ^Let me die in 
peace' — and died. But the worst of it all is, that Voltaire has been pleading with 
God to take you to Heaven alive and clothed, and when asked why so, he answered 
'So that we may have some fun.' 

"On learning of all the indulgences that the Archbishop had allowed on your 
books, to allure buyers, old Peter, thumping his bald head, exclaimed: 

" 'Why did I not think of granting indulgencies with the fish I sold, when a 
fisherman? We would have been rich, and Judas, instead of selling the Master, 
would have sold sardines and tinapa! (*) I would not have been obliged to cowardly 
apostatize, and would not have suffered martyrdom. Verily, I sa}^, that my friend 
down BELOW leaves me behind in the matter of knowing how to make money; 
and yet I am a Jew.' 

" 'Of course, don't you know that your friend BELOW is a Gallego?' (*) Said a 



(*) Tinapa.— Small white-bait fish, which, mixed with rice, constitutes the daily 
diet of the lower class of natives in the Phihppine Islands.— Trans. Note. 

(*) Gallego.— Native of Galicia, northwestern Province in Spain. On account 
of their healthy and robust constitution, the lower class of Gallego are found em- 
ployed in the hardest work throughout the country, where physical strength is nec- 
essary, although they are considered slow and lazy. Their predominant charac- 
teristic seems to be an insatiable greed of hoarding money. — Trans. Note. 



A MARTYR TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 195 

little old man who had been UP THERE but a few years. His name was Tasio, 
and, addressing himself to me, he continued: 

" 'You are a great Doctor, and although you have contradicted yourself many 
times, I hold you as a pri\dleged character of vast erudition, for, having written 
your books, Retractationum, and Confesiones; and since you are so different from 
your sons who try, when defending themselves, to make black appear white, and 
white green, I will state my complaints, so that you, as their Father, may put a 
stop to it all. 

" 'There exists on earth an unfortunate, who, amongst many foolish acts, has 
committed the following: 

" '1st. He holds solidary of all that I have said during my earthly life, an Indian 
called Rizal, only because said Indian has quoted my words in a book that he wrote. 
As you can see, should we follow sujcIi a system of reasoning, Rizal would also 
agree with the views expressed by friars, policemen, etc., and you, yourself. Holy 
Doctor, would also be solidary of all that you ascribe to heretics. Pagans, and above 
all, to Manichees. 

" '2nd. He wants me to think as he himself does, since he quotes me as sa^dng 
'The Bible and the Holy Gospel.' It may be well that he, as all fanatics, should 
believe that these are one and the same thing. But I, leaving studied the original 
Hebraic Bible, know, that it does not contain the Gospel. That the Jewish Bible, 
being a history of creation, treasure and patrimony of Jewish people, the Jews, who 
do not accept the Gospel, should be authority. That as the Latin translation is 
incorrect, the Catholics could not lay down the Law, notwithstanding their habit of 
appropriating everything to themselves, and of misconstruing to their advantage 
the translation of the original text. Besides, the Gospels, with the exception of that 
written by Saint Mathew, were written in Greek later than the Bible, and conflict 
in every respect with the Law of Moses, as proved by the enemity between Jews 
and Christians. How, then, could I, knowing all this, express myself as a fanatic, or 
as an ignorant monk? I do not exact from any monk the speech of a free-thinker 
and therefore, they should not exact that I express myself as a monk would. Why 
do they want me to consolidate under one name two distinct things, which, 
to a certain extent contradict each other? Let the Christians do so, 
but I must not, and cannot. If I call them separately, it is in 
accordance with the thought inspiring two works, two legislations, two religious, 
on which they want to found the Catholic Religion. Your son, moreover, reasons 



196 A MAKTYK TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 

finely, when he sa3's: ^I did not know that the Gospels were different from the 
Bible, and not a iDrincipal part of it.' Te.ll him, Holy Father, that in every country 
a part, no matter how principal may it be, is always different from the whole, for in- 
stance: The principal thing in Friar Rodriguez is his habit; but his habit is dif- 
ferent from Friar Rodriguez, as otherwise there would be one dirty Friar Rodriguez, 
another shining, another creased, another wide, short, long, greasy, etc. On the other 
hand, the habit is different from the monk, because a piece of cloth, no matter how- 
dirt}^, could never be presumptuous, despotic, ignorant or obscurautistic. 

" ^3d. To prove the existence of a Purgatory, he quotes: ^Saint Mathew says in 

Chapter twelfth, thirty-sixth verse .^ But he quotes wrongly, as from that verse 

cannot be derived the existence of a Purgatory, nor anything of its kind. The He- 
brew text says: ^Wa 'ebif 'omar lakam kij 'al kal abar reg ashar idabbru 'abaschim 
yittbu heschboun Mom hammischphat'; the Greek text, ^Lego de hynun bote pan 
rema argon, ho ean lalesosin hoi anthropoi, apodosousi peri auton logon en hemera 
kriseos.' All these translated into Latin say: ^Dicto autem vobis, quoniam omne 
verbum otiosum quod locuti fuerint homines, reddent rationem de eo in die judicii,' 
which, translated into English means, 'A'NB I SAY TO YOU, THAT ON THE 
DAY OF JUDGMENT, MEN SHALL HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR EVERY 
IDLE WORD.' From all these texts, you can see. Holy Doctor, that the only thing 
to be derived is that on the Day of Judgment, Friar Rodriguez will have to give 
such an account of himself, that very likely it will take him two days to account for 
all the nonsense he has said. 

" ^I imagine that your son, instead of the thirty-sixth verse, meant to quote the 
thirty- second, which says: "And all who shall say word against the son of man 
will be forgiven; but he who says word against the Holy Ghost, shall not be par- 
doned; neither in this life nor in the next.'^ From this they have tried to derive the 
existence of a Purgatory. What a fertile imagination! 

" ^4th. Because Saint L^eneus, St. Clement of Alexandria, and Origenes, three in 
all, although not being the first Christian, had some remote idea of Purgatory, it 
does not follow that the Christians of the first century did believe in it, unless 
it could be previously established that three persons represent a totality, even if 
amongst such a totality existed, contradictory ideas. But, as a proof that vras it not 
so, you, yourself. Holy Doctor, being their father, having flourished in the fourth and 
fifth century, and supposed to be the greatest amongst the Fathers of the Church, 
denied most emphaticall}^, in various instances, the existence of a Purgatory. In 
your CCXCV cermon, beginning by: Treeucnter charitatem vestra,' etc., you said 



A MAIiTY.ll TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 197 

ver}^ decidedly: 'Nemo se slecipiat fratres; DUO enim LOCA sunt et TERIUS non 
est ullus. Qui cum Christo regiiare non mernerit, cum diabolo ABSQUE DUBITA- 
TIONE ULLA perebit.' This translated means, ^Do not deceive yourselves, breth- 
ren; there are but two places for the soul and there is no third place. He who 
should not deserve to live with Christ, UNDOUBTEDLY will perish.' 

^' Turther on, in de Consolaticne mortuorum, you say: '^Sed recedus anima quoe 
carnalibus oculis non videtur, ab angelis susciptur et collocatur, aut in sinu, Abrahae, 
si fidelis est, aut in carcerio inferni custodia si peccatrix est.' This means, ^ut 
at the departure of that soul which the eyes of the. flesh cannot see, the angels 
wdll receive and carry it to the Bosom of Abraham, if it has been faithful; or to 
Hell, if sinful.' On the other hand, I could quote a large number of your own 
texts showing that for you. Purgatory was not an impossibility. Add to all this what 
Saint Fulgentius, who flourished after you during the fifth and sixth century, says 
in Chapter XIV., of his ^de incarnatione et gratia,' etc.: ^Quicumque regnum Dei 
non ingreditur, poenis oeternis cruciatur.' That is to say, '^He who could not enter 
the Kingdom of God, will suffer eternal punishment.' 

" ^5th. Your son either cannot read, or else acts in bad faith; otherwise, how could 
he, from my estatement, The Protestants DO NOT BELIEVE in it; neither do 
the Greek Fathers, because they miss,' etc., try to make The Greek Fathers DID 
NOT beheve in a Purgatory?' 

'' Tlow could he deduct from a present, a past tense and twist the sentences to 
make from it The Holy Greek Fathers?' 

" ^I used ^BELIEVE,' the present tense, although in my time the HOLY GREEK 
FATHERS did not exist, but simiDly the fathers belonging to the Greek Church. 
Moreover, as I was following an historical order, how could I refer to the Protest- 
ants, first, and to the HOLY GREEK FATHERS afterwards, who believed what 
they wished, and who at the time of my earthly life were a past to me? 

" ^And enwrapped in such bad faith, he dares to qualify as a slanderer, imposter 
and ignoramus, the man who only quoted me! 

" ^But such proceeding is worthy of Friar Rodriguez, who, following his system 
of confusing a part with the whole, tries to condemn another's book, and mistakes 
the rays of the sun for the sun itself, all with the purpose of slandering the author 
and calling him Freemason. 

" Tell me, Holy Doctor, after what I have told you, who is the real ignoramus, im- 
postor and slanderer? 

" 'Gth. Instead of accusing others of ignorance, and presuming to know every- 



198 A MAETYR TO THE LIBERTY OE SPEECH. 

things he should be careful, because he has not even read your books, notwith- 
standing 3'ou are his father, and that it is his duty to know what you have said. 
Should he have done. so, he would neither have written so much nonsense nor would 
he have shown the shallowness of his knowledge, w^hich, by the way, he derives 
from some Httle books, which, to jDropagate and maintain obscurantism, were 
published in Cataluna, (*) by Sarda y Salvany/- 

'•Thus was old Tasio expressing himself, when the voice of the Almighty was 
heard summoning me to His presence. 

"Trembling, I approached, and prostrated myself at His feet.' 

" 'Go to Earth,' said the voice, 'and tell those who call themselves your sons that 
I, having created millions of suns, around which, thousands of worlds, inhabited by 
millions of millions of beings, created by my infinite Mercy, gyrate, cannot be an 
instrument to the fulfilment of a few ungrateful creatures' passions, simply handfuls 
of dust caried away by a gust of wind; insignificant particles of the inhabitants of 
one of my smallest worlds! 

" 'Tell them that my ISTame must not be used to extend the misery or ignor- 
ance of their brothers, nor shall they restrain in my Name, intelligence and thought, 
v\'hich I created free. That they must not commit abuses in my ^N'ame, cause a 
tear, nor a single drop of blood to be shed. That they must not represent me as 
being cruel, revengeful, subject to their whims and executor of their will. Not 
to represent me. The Eountain of Goodness, as a tyrant, or an unkind Father, 
pretending that they are the only possessors of Light and Eternal Life. How? I, 
who have given to each being air, light, life and love, that he may be happy, could 
I deny to one of the most transcendental, true happiness, for the sake of others? Im- 
pious! xibsurd! Tell them that I, who am All, and apart from whom nothing 
exists, nor could exist, I have not and cannot have enemies. Nothing equals me, 
and no one can oppose my will! 

" 'Tell them that their enemies are not my enemies; that I have never identi- 
fied Myself wdth them, and that their maxims are vain, insensible, blasphemous! 
Tell them that I pardon error, but punish iniquity; that I will forgive a sin against 
me, but will prosecute those w^ho should torture an unfortunate. That being in- 
finitely Powerful, all the sins of all the inhabitants of all the worlds, thousands 
of times centuplicated, can never dim an atom of my glory. But the least in- 
jury to the poor and oppressed I will punish, for I have not created man to make 
him unhappy nor the victhn of his brothers. I am the Father of all existent; I 

(*) Cataluna. — Province of Spain, which capital is Barcelona. — Trans, Note. 




VICTIMS REPORTED DEAD AFTER AN EXECUTION. 




AN EXECUTION ENTERTAINMENT ON THE LUNETA. 



A MAETYR TO TFE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 199 

know the destiny of every atom; let me love all men, whose miseries and needs I 
know. Let each one perform his duty, that I, The God of Mercy, know my own 
will.^ 

"Thus spoke the Almighty; and I came here to fulfill his command. N'ow, 
I say to you: 

"That the miseries of the unhappy Indian whom you have impoverished and 
stupefied, have reached the Throne of the Highest. THERE have arrived so many 
intelligences obscured and impaired by you! The cry of so many exiles, tortured, and 
killed at your instigation! The tears of so many mothers and the miseries of so 
many orphans, combined with the noise of your orgies! Know that there is a God, 
(perhaps you doubt His existence, and only' use His name to advance your ends) 
who will some day call you to account for all jouv iniquities. Know that He needs 
not the money of the poor, nor is it necessary to worship Him by burning candles 
and incense, saying masses or believing blindly what others say, contrary to common 
sense. 

"Xo! His luminary is greater than your own sun; His flowers more fragrant 
than those on earth. He suffices to Himself. He created intelligence for no sub- 
servient purpose; but that with its use, man could be happy in raising himself to 
Him. He needs no one. He created man, not for His sake, but for man's own. He 
is happy for all eternity! 

"You obstinately uphold the existence of a Purgatory, using even the most ig- 
noble weapons and means to defend your belief. Why, instead of wasting your time 
in afiirming the existence of that which you never saw, do you not preach and 
practice love and charity amongst yourselves? Why not preach words of comfort 
and hope, to somewhat soothe the miseries of life, instead of frightening your 
brothers by tales of future punishment? Why? Because Christ's True Doctrine 
would bring you no earthly wealth, and all that you look for is gold, and gold! 
And to satisfy your end and bleed the timid souls, of money, you have invented a 
Purgatory! Why afflict orphans and widows with dreadful tales of the next life, 
only to extort from them a few cents? Have you forgotten what the Apostle said? 
'Nolo vos ignorare, fratres, de dormientibus, ut non contristenuni, sicut qui spem 
non habent,' which means, ^I do not wish you to ignore, brethren, that wdiich con- 
cerns those who sleep, that you may not be saddened, like those who have lost all 
hope.' Also, that I, myself, have said? ^Hoec enim est Christianoe fidei summa: 
vitam veram expectare post mortem,' that is ^Here is then the summary of the Chris- 
tian faith: to hope for a true life after death.' But you, lacking in charity, and for 



200 A MARTYE TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 

a vile^ greedy interest, live in opposition to Christ, and pretend to be able to mould 
Divine Judgment. All the strength of your philosophy seems to be derived from 
your own theory, which denies the existence of souls sufficiently sinners to be con- 
demned, or pure enough to enter the Kingdom of God! By whose authority do you 
pretend to oppose the judgment of Him who weighs and considers the smallest 
thought? Who knows it is impossible to expect perfection from beings made of 
clay, subject to the miseries and oppressions of earthly life? Who told you that 
He will judge as you, with your narrow, limited intelligence, do? That the miseries 
of this life are not expiations of sins? 

"Cease in your avaricious hoarding of wealth! You have now enough. Do not 
wrench from the poor his last mouthful of bread. 

"Remember what Saint Fulgentius said: ^Et si mithetur in stagnum ignis et 
sulphuris qui nudum vestimento non tegit, quid passures est qui vestimento crudelis 
expoliat? Et si rerum suarem avarus possessor requiem non habebit, quomodo 
aliaenarum rerum insatiabilis raptor?' Meaning, ^And if he who never clothed the 
naked is sent to the pond of fire and sulphur, where will he, who cruelly stripped 
them, go? And if the greedy possessor of his own wealth may never rest, how 
shall it be with the thief, insatiable in his greed for the wealth of others?' 

"Preach then, the religion of Hope and Promises, as you, above all, are in need of 
pardon and forgiveness. Do not speak of rigor, nor condemn others, lest God should 
hear and judge you according to the laws by you formulated. Bear always in mind 
Christ's words, 'Vae vobis scribae et Pharisae hypocrite qui clauditis regnum coel- 
orum ante homines; vos non intratis, nee introeunts sinitis intrare!' This means, 
'Woe to you. Scribes and Pharisees, who close to men the Kingdom of God, and 
neither enter nor allow others to enter!' 

"Now, to you personally, I will say: You are an unfortunate fool, who speak 
numberless absurdities, although I could not expect aught else from you, and would 
not punish you for them. But you have had the audacity of not only insulting 
others, by which you forgot truth and charity, but praised yourself and called at- 
tention to your own praise. 

"Referring to yourself, you said. This Father, whom I well know (liar, you do 
not even know yourself), although he may appear a little hard headed (a little hard- 
headed? Ask my crosier if your head is not harder than stone), never speaks in 
vain (this is true; every word you say causes as much laughter on earth as in 
Heaven), nor uses words without first thinking (if such is true, your intelligence is 
very limited). 



A MARTYR TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. 201 

"For such foolish vanity I ought to punish you severely, so that you would stop 
forever your senseless writings, saving me the trouble of coming to reprimand yoii 
at every instance. 

"AYere I to judge you according to your own theory, you should at least go 
to your Purgatory. But, after all, you are not so had, as many learned persons are 
made to laugh at your writings. 

"It would he well for your pride if you allowed the Indians to pass by you without 
taking off their hats or kissing your hand. But then, they would be imprisoned 
or exiled, and it would not do to increase the wrong you do them. 

"Shall I make you lame and dumb? Xo! Your brothers would claim it was a 
trial of your forbearance, to which God had submitted you. No; you won't catch me 
on that! 

"What shall I do with you?" 

The old Bishop meditated for a few moments, and then, he exclaimed: 

"x\h! Xow I know! Your own sin shall be your punishment! 

"I condemn you to continue saying and writing nonsense for the rest of your 
life, so that the world may laugh at you, and also, that on the Day of Judgment 
you may be judged according to your deserts!" 

"Amen!" replied Friar Rodriguez. 

The vision then disappeared; the light of the lamp regained its yellowish flame,, 
and the soft perfume dispersed. 

On the following day Friar Rodriguez started writing greater nonsense^ with re- 
newed energy. 

Amen! 

JOSE RIZAL. 

Note. — The foregoing admirable translations from the waitings of Dr. Rizal were 

made by Mr. F. M. de Eivas, of Chicago. 



CHAPTEE XY. 
EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 

3^0 Mystery About the Cause of" the War— The Expected and the Inevitable Has 
Happened— The Tragedy of the Maine — Vigilant Wisdom of President Mc- 
Kinley — Dewey's Prompt Triumph — The Battles at Manila and Santiago 
Compared — General Shafter Tells of the Battle of Santiago — Eeport of Wain- 
wright Board on Movements of Sampson's Fleet in the' Destruction of Cer- 
vera's Squadron — Stars and Stripes Eaised Over Porto Eico — American and 
Spanish Fleets at Manila Compared. — Text of Peace Protocol. 

The war between Spain and the United States was a long time coming, and there 
is no more mystery about its cause than doubt as to its decisions. It was foretold 
m every chapter of the terrible stories of the conflicts between the Spaniards and 
their colonists, largely of their blood, in Central and South America. The causes 
of war in Cuba, and the conduct of w^arfare by Spain in that island were the same 
that resulted in revolutionary strife in Mexico and Peru, and, indeed, all the na- 
tions in the Americas that once were swayed by the sovereignty of Spain. The last 
of the islands of the Spanish possessions in the hemisphere introduced to the civil- 
ized world by Columbus were lost by the w^estern peninsula of Europe, symbolized 
and personified in the Crown, as the first crumbling fragments of the colonial em- 
pires of Spain fell away from her. Only in the case of Cuba there was the direct 
intervention of the United States to establish "a stable government" in the distracted 
island, desolated by war, pestilence and famine, that had evolved conditions, of terri- 
ble misery incurable from within, and of inhumane oppression that should be re- 
-sented by all enlightened people. It had long been realized by the thoughtful men 
of Spain capable of estimating the currents of events, that the time must come, and 
was close at hand, when the arms of the United States would be directed to the 
conquest of Cuba. It was not only in the air that this was to be, it was, written in 
the history of Spanish America, and more than that, there was not an Atlas that 
did not proclaim in the maps of the continents of the Western world, that Cuba would 
and in the largest sense of right should, become a part of the United States, and 
must do so in order to be redeemed from the disabilities deeply implanted, and 
released from having the intolerable burdens imposed by the rule of Spain. The 
consciousness of the Spaniards, that the shadow of the United States lowered over the 
misgovernment of Cuba, and that there was a thunder-cloud in the north that 

202 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAE. 203 

must burst — with more than the force of the hurricanes that spin on their dizzy way 
of destruction from the Caribbean Sea — aroused the fury of passion, of jealous 
hatred and thirst for revenge, in anticipation of the inevitable, that caused the catas- 
trophe of the blowing up of the Maine, and kindled with the flame of the explosion, 
the conflagration of warfare in the Indies West and East, that has reddened the 
seas and the skies with the blood of Spain and the glow of America's victory both 
in the Antilles and the Philippines, wiping from the face of the earth the last 
vestiges of the colonial imperialism of Spain that gave her mediaeval riches and 
celebrit}', for which — as the system always evil became hideous with malignant 
growth, so that each colony was a cancer on the mother country — there has been 
exacted punishment of modern poverty, and finally the humiliation of the haughty^ 
with no consolation for defeat, but the fact that in desperate and forlorn circum- 
stances there were seen glimpses of the ancient valor in Spanish soldiers, that was 
once their high distinction among the legions of embattled Euroj)e. 

The United States was not ready for war. Our regular army was a 16 to 120 Span- 
ish troops in Cuba, our field guns 1 to 6 of Blanco's batteries, our siege train no- 
where, and fortified cities to assail; and the ability and industry of the Spaniards 
as well as their skill and strength in surveying and fortifying military lines, and their 
food resources were dangerously undervalued. The war was rushed upon the coun- 
try, contrary to the calm executive judgment of the President. The army and navy 
were admirable but faulty in hasty equipment, the navy a perfect machine in itself, 
but without docks and arsenals in the right place for the supply Qf a fleet in the 
old battle field of European navies, the West Indies. The energies of the Govern- 
ment were put forth as soon as the w^ar was seriously threatened, and the mighty 
people arose and swiftly as the aptitudes of Americans in emergencies could be applied, 
deficiencies were supplied. The first stroke of arms came as a dazzling flash from the 
far southwest, in the story of the smashing victory of Dewey at Manila. That 
splendid officer, gentleman and hero did not signal his fleet as Nelson at Trafalgar, 
that every man was expected to do his duty, but he reported that every man did 
his duty; and the East Indian fleet of Spain vanished, smashed, burned and sunken 
by a thunderbolt! The theory of war countenanced by the impetuous and demanded 
by the presumptuous, was that our aggressive forces must attack Havana. In and 
around that city were an enormous garrison, abundant military stores, forty miles 
of trenches defended by sixty thousand men; and far more to be dreaded the deadly 
climate, the overwhelming rains, the deep rank soil soaked under the tropical sun 
and the dense vegetation, and still more the pestilence — the ghastly Yellow Fever^ 



204 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 

and scarcely less poisonous and fatal pernicious malarial fevers, and dysenteries 
that exhausted as fast as fever consumed. Fortunately, it was decided that the place 
to attack Havana was Santiago, and there the regular army, with the exception 
of the regiments sent to the Philippines, was ordered and in due time reinforced by 
volunteers, safely embarked and disembarked, to become the winners on bloody fields 
and receive the surrender of the Spanish garrisons of the city and province of Santi- 
ago. The vaunted fleet of Cervera, having attempted flight, perished — the wrecks of 
his fine ships strewing the southern coast of Cuba, where they remain as memorials, 
like and unlike the distorted iron that was the Maine, in the harbor of Havana, and 
as the shattered and charred remnants of the fleet of Montejo, at Manila, still cumber 
the waters of the bay off Cavite, telling the story of the glory of our victorious heroes 
there. 

The responsibility of the Chief Magistrate of the United States in the late war 
was remarkable. Everything of moment was referred to him from the Cabinet 
officers of the Government, and he gave all the closest attention, maldng, after 
conscientious consideration, the decisions that determined the course of action 
taken. This was true in unusual measure of the Treasurj^, State, War and Navy 
Departments. 

It is well the President resisted while he could the "rush line" in Congress, that 
strove headlong for war, and strenuously urged in the time gained essential prepara- 
tions, and that he pressed the war the day it was declared with a hurry message to 
Admiral Dewey, who won his immortal victory on the other side of the world within 
a week of his orders by cable to "destroy" the squadron of the enemy that might be 
found somewhere on the west coast of Luzon. 

Nearer home there was a harder task. The Spanish army in Cuba was much 
more formidable on the defensive than in the offensive. There were greater num- 
bers of soldiers of a better class in the service, of Spain on the island, than had been 
supposed, and they did not lack, in the degree believed, discipline, ammunition or pro- 
visions. The Spaniards had an effective field artillery, more than one hundred guns, 
and their Mauser rifles were excellent, far-reaching; and, in field ammunition, they 
were ahead of us in smokeless powder. Our regiments would have given way before 
the Spanish rifles, that told no tales except with bolts, that flew invisible, fatal arrows, 
from the jungles, if the American soldier had not been of stuff that was like pure steel, 
and marched unflinchingly through the deadly hail, regarding the bitter pelting as 
a summons to "come on" and carry the trenches and ambuscades by storm. The 
incapacity of the Spaniards to put down the Cuban Rebellion caused grave mis- 



EVEXTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMERICAX WAR. 205 

apprehensions, both as to the Spanish and Cuban soldiery^ for few Americans un- 
derstand the conditions of the interminable guerilla warfare^ the particular mili- 
tary accomiDlishment of the Spanish race, impotent in all save the destructive effect 
upon those not engaged in it. In Congress no impression could be made of the real 
feebleness of the Cubans, except in bushwhacking, and it is still a puzzle that the 
immense masses of Spanish troops should be so helpless against the insurgents, and 
yet so troublesome in harassing invaders. The Cuban army was not a myth, cer- 
tainly, but it has been a disappointment to those who were swift in shouting its 
praises, upon information given by the Cuban Key West Bureau of Xews novelettes. 
It was well that the attack on Spain in the West Indies was directed upon Santiago 
and Porto Rico. The former manifestly was a point that commanded the central 
waters of the West Indies; recently there have been expressions of surprise that 
the expedition to Porto Rico, finally and handsomely led by Major General Miles, 
commanding the army of the United States, was so delayed. Investigation from the 
inside will duly determine that no harm was done in that case by loss of time. Santi- 
ago was pointed out by many circumstances as the "\dtal spot of Spanish power in 
America, where a mortal blow might be delivered. It was in the province where 
the insurgents had greater strength than in any other part of the island. It was 
so situated that our fleet in that locality was close to the Windward Passage, east 
of Cuba, where Columbus was at once perplexed and triumphant, and to Hayti, Ja- 
maica and Porto Rico; and there were several landings where it would be possible to 
disembark troops, protected by the fire of our ships. More than that, Santiago is the 
old capital of Cuba, the place where the head of the Cuban church abides, and the 
scene of the Yirginius Massacre — altogether having a place in history almost equal 
to that of Havana. It was not doubted the sanitary situation of the east end of 
Cuba was better than that of the west end. Experience shows that this easy as- 
sumption was questionable. If we omit the great plague spot, the city of Havana, 
it will appear that Santiago is in a region as pestilential as can be found in the prov- 
inces of Havana and Pinar del Rio. More than all other associations and conspicui- 
ties, the attention of the world was directed to Santiago because Cervera's elusive 
fleet, short of coal and provisions, and overmatched by the United States navy, took 
refuge in the deep harbor, hoping to clean his ships, get supplies and escape with 
coal enough to open a new career. The Spaniards were too slow, and the only 
ships of Spain that showed a sign of the spirit of enterprise and the capacity of 
adventure, were bottled up by a releutless blockade. Lieutenant Ilobsou became 
famous in a nidit in his most hazardous effort to use the Merrimac as a cork for 



206 EVENTS OF THE SPAmSH-AMERICAN WAE. 

the bottle, but fortunately left a gap tlirougb wliicli the Spaniards made haste to their 
doom. When the second fleet of Spain was destroyed, all chance of disputing our 
suprema.cy at sea, or of doing anything to guard Spanish interests either in the 
East or West Indies, was extinguished. 

There has been no marked features of contention as to the battles of Manila, 
except in the case of the gratuitous observations of critical persons, whose feelings 
have been disturbed, that the storming of the town vv^as not bloody enough. The 
victory, however, was all the greater, for the casualty lists were not long, owing to 
the management of the Commanding General and the heroic Admiral, who won a 
battle famous as that at New Orleans, with less bloodshed, but as Jackson's victory 
was not belittled because he lost but half a dozen men killed, the victories at Manila 
should not be slighted. The Santiago battles, however, have stirred controversies, 
and there is a great mass of literature, ofhcial and other, subject to endless examina- 
tion, and perhaps so voluminous as to confuse readers for some generations. The 
leading and indisputable facts are, that the Spaniards fought well on land, but 
were ineffectual afloat, in their attempts to inflict injuries, though they put to sea 
in dashing st^de, and did not flinch in efforts to evade a superior force, until the fire 
of the Americans crushed them. In the incidents of warfare on the hills around 
and the waves before Santiago, it is fair to say that the Spaniards redeemed them- 
selves from imputation of timidity, and fought in a manner not unworthy of the 
countr3mien of the Garrison of Morro Castle, Havana, whose gallantry in resisting 
the army and fleet of England, in 1762, commanded the respectful regard of their 
conquerers, and is a glorious chapter in the story of Spain. The Santiago events were 
most honorable to American arms, and it would lessen the splendor of the rep- 
utation of the American soldiers if one failed to do justice to the sturdy fighters they 
overcame. It is too early or too late for participation in the debates wdiether civil or 
acrimonious, as to the merits or faults of those engaged at Santiago, further than to 
quote that golden sentence from the report of Commodore Schle}^, that there was 
"glory enough to go around." We, whatever is said, remember what was done on those 
hills that have an everlasting place in history. There forever is to be application of 
marvelous propriety, of the m.ournful and noble lines of Kentucky's poet, Theodore 
O'Hara: 

"On Fame's eternal camping ground 

Their silent tents are spread, 

And Glory guards with solemn round 

The bivouac of the dead." 

There was a speedy realization by the country, and all the intelligent peoples 



EYEiSTTS OF THE SPANISH- AMERICx\ N^ WAR. 207 

of the earth, when our troops were embarked for the Santiago campaign, that the* 
crisis of the war was at hand. No American thought of failure. The only ques- 
tions were as to the power of the defense of Cuba by Spain, and the cost to us in 
men and money to overcome the defenders. Those who knew the most about the con- 
ditions in Cuba had the least confidence in the efficiency of the Cuban Army. The 
only body of organized Cubans of importance was that under command of Garcia, and 
it was the province of which he was in partial occupation that we invaded in force. 
The public had been considerably interested and entertained by the rousing ac- 
counts of the various naval bombardments of Spanish shore fortresses. But the 
firing from our ships had not materially shaken the Spanish defenses. The sea power 
had not shattered the shore lines, but found abundant occupation in guarding 
transports and protecting the troops when landing. It would have been an act of the 
most gross imprudence and incompetency to have put an army ashore unless the 
supremacy of the navy on the sea vras absolute. More than that, our own cities 
had to be assured that they were secure from attack. On the 31st of May orders were 
issued for the embarkation of the army of invasion as follows: 

1. The Fifth Army Corps. 

2. The Battalion of Engineers. 

3. The detachment of the Signal Corps. 

4. Five squadrons of cavalry, to be selected by the commanding general of the 
cavalry division, in accordance with instruction previously given. 

5. Four batteries of light artillery, to be commanded by a major, to be selected 
by the commanding officer of the light artillery brigade. 

6. Two batteries of heavy artiller}', to be selected by the commanding officer of 
the siege artillery battalion, with eight (8) siege guns and eight (8) field mortars. 

7. The Battalion of Engineers, the infantry, and cavalr}-, will be supplied with 
500 rounds of ammunition per man. 

8. All troops will carry, in addition to the fourteen (14) days' field rations now 
on hand, ten (10) days' travel rations. 

9. The minimum allowance of tentage and baggage as prescribed in General 
Orders 51, A. G. 0., current series, will be taken. 

10. In addition to the rations specified in paragraph 8 of tliis order, the chief 
commissary will provide sixty (60) days' field rations for the entire command. 

11. All recruits and extra baggage, the latter to be stored, carefully piled and 
covered, will be left in camp, in charge of a commissioned officer, to be selected by 



208 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 

the regimental commander. Wliere there are no recruits available the necessary 
guard only will be left. 

12. Travel rations will be drawn^ at once^, by the several commands, as indicated 
in paragraph 8. 

This was by command of Major-General Shafter. There were delays on account 
of inadequate facilities for embarkation at Tampa and Port Tampa. Orders for 
General Shafter to move with not less than 10,000 men were issued on the Tth, and 
there ^vas- delay on account of reports of Spanish ships of war ready to strike a 
blow at the transports. Twelve squadrons of cavalry not mounted were added to 
the troops designated in the general order, and June 14th the expedition sailed with 
815 ofi&cers and 16,072 enlisted men, and had a smooth and uneventful passage. 
There were several demonstrations for the deception of the enemy, in one of which 
500 Cubans were employed. General Shafter was committed by the movements and 
the ground, as he says in his official report: 

"To approach Santiago from the east over a narrow road, at first in some places 
not better than a trail, running from Daiquiri through Siboney and Sevilla, and 
making attack from that quarter, was, in my judgment, the only feasible plan, and 
subsequent information and results confirmed my judgment." 

The disembarkation commenced June 22nd, and all men were ordered to carry 
"on the person the blanket roll (with shelter tent and poncho), three days' field ra- 
tions (with coffee, ground), canteens filled, and 100 rounds of ammunition per man. 
Additional ammunition, already issued to the troops, tentage, baggage, and com- 
pany cooking utensils left under charge of the regimental quartermaster, with one 
non-commissioned officer and two privates from each company," 

Two days were occupied in getting the troops ashore, and the first engagement 
was on the morning of the 24th, General Young's brigade taking the advance, 
and finding a Spanish force strongly intrenched on the Santiago road three miles 
from Siboney. Young's force was 964 officers and men. The enemy were driven 
from the field. Our loss, 1 officer and 15 men killed, and 6 officers and 46 men 
wouiided. Spanish loss reported 9 killed and 27 wounded. General Shafter says 
the engagement had "an inspiring effect" upon the men, and "gave us a well- 
watered country further to the front, on which to encamp our troops," and the rest of 
the month was occupied in attempting to land rations enough to have a reserve, 
and "it was not until nearly two weeks after the army landed that it was possible to 
place oil shore three days' supplies in excess of those required for the daily con- 
sumption." 



EVENTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMERICAN WAR. 209 

General Shaf ler reconnoitered, and formed his plan of battle June 30tli, and 
reports that in the opening of the engagement on July 1st "the artillery fire from El 
Pozo was soon returned by the enemy's artillery. They evidently had the range of 
[iiis hill; and their first shells killed and wounded several men. As the Spaniards 
used smokeless powder it was very difficult to locate the position of their pieces, 
while, on the contrary, the smoke caused by our black powder plainly indicated the 
position of our battery." 

The advantages the Spaniards had in the use of smokeless powder were con- 
spicuous throughout the scenes of fighting both at Santiago and Manila. We had, 
however, at Santiago a war balloon of the actual service, of which General Shafter 
says: "General Kent forced the head of his column alongside of the cavalry col- 
umn as far as the narrow trail permitted, and thus hurried his arrival at the San 
Juan and the formation beyond that stream. A few hundred yards before reaching 
the San Juan the road forks, a fact that was discovered by Lieutenant-Colonel Derby 
of my staff, who had approached well to the front in a war balloon. This informa- 
tion he furnished to the troops, resulting in Sumner moving on the right-hand 
road, while Kent was enabled to utilize the road to the left." 

General Shafter officially makes the following reference to his illness at the time: 
"My own health was impaired by overexertion in the sun and intense heat of 
the day before, which prevented me from participating as actively in the battle as 
I desired; but from a high hill near my headquarters I had a general view of the 
battlefield, extending from El Caney on the right to the ieft of our lines on San 
Juan Hill. My staff officers were stationed at various points on the field, rendering 
frequent reports, and through them by the means of orderlies and the telephone, 
I was enabled to transmit my orders. 

"After the brilliant and important victory gained at El Caney, Lawton started 
his tried troops, who had been fighting all day and marching much of the night be- 
fore, to connect with the right of the cavalry division. Night came on before tliis 
movement could be accomplished. In the darkness the enemy's pickets were en- 
countered, and the Division Commander being ^uncertain of the grouud and as to 
what might be in his front halted his command and reported the situation to me. 
This information was received about 12:30 a. m., and I directed General Lawton to 
return by my headquarters and the El Pozo House as the only certain w^ay of gain- 
ing his new position. 

"'This was done, and the division took position on the right of the cavah-y early 



210 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 

next morning, Chaffee's brigade arriving first, about half-past 7, and the other 
brigades before noon/' 

Of the hottest of the fight on the 1st of July, General Shafter reports: ^'Great 
credit is due to Brigadier-General H. S. Hawkins, who, placing himself between 
his regiments, urged them on by voice and bugle calls to the attack so brilliantly 
executed. 

"In this fierce encounter words fail to do justice to the gallant regimental com- 
manders and their heroic men, for, while the- generals indicated the formations and 
the points of attack, it was, after all, the intrepid bravery of the subordinate officers 
and men that planted our colors on the crest of San Juan Hill and drove the enemy 
from his trenches and blockhouses, thus gaining a position which sealed the fate 
of Santiago. 

"In this action on this j)art of the field most efficient service was rendered by 
Lieutenant John H. Parker, Thirteenth Infantry, and the Gatling gun detachment 
under his command. The fighting continued at intervals until nightfall, but our 
men held resolutely to the jDositions gained at the cost of so much blood and toil. 

"I am greatly indebted to General Wheeler, who, as previously stated, returned 
from the sick list to duty during the afternoon. His cheerfulness and aggressive- 
ness made itself felt on this part of the battlefield, and the information he furnished 
to me at various stages of the battle proved to be most useful." 

The report of the General Com.manding of the further fighting is a model of 
forcible brevity, in these paragraphs: 

"Soon after daylight on July 2 the enemy opened battle, but because of the in- 
trenchments made during the night, the approach of Lawton's division, and the 
presence of Bates' brigade, which had taken position during the night on Kent's left, 
little apprehension was felt as to our ability to repel the Spaniards. 

"It is proper here to state that General Bates and his brigade had performed 
most arduous and efficient service, having marched much of the night of June 30- 
July 1, and a good part of the latter day, during which he also participated in the 
battle of El Caney, after which he proceeded, by w^ay of El Pozo, to the left of the 
line at San Jnan, reaching his new position about midnight. 

"All day on the 2d the battle raged with more or less fury, but such of our troops 
as were in position at daylight held their ground, and Lawton gained a strong and 
commanding position on the right. 

"About 10 p. m., the enemy made a vigorous assault to break through my lines, 
but he was repulsed at all points. 



EVENTS OF THE SPAISTISH-AMEEICAlSr WAR. 211 

^^On the morning of the 3d the battle was renewed, but the enemy seemed to 
have expended his energy in the assault of the previous night, and the firing along 
the lines was desultory;" and this was stopped by a letter sent by General Shafter, 
saying he would be obliged to "shell Santiago/' if not surrendered, and non-com- 
batants would be given until 10 o'clock July 4th to leave the city. The reply of 
the Spanish General was that he would not surrender. Then foreign consuls came 
4V^ithin our lines asking more time to remove the women and children. The lan- 
guage of General Shatter reporting the situation at the time and the events follow- 
ing, is here reproduced as of permanent interest: 

"My first message went in under a flag of truce at 12:30 p. m. I was of the opin- 
ion that the Spaniards would surrender if given a little time, and I thought this re- 
sult would be hastened if the men of their army could be made to understand they 
tvould be well treated as prisoners of war. Acting upon this presumption, I deter- 
mined to offer to return all the wounded Spanish officers at El Caney who were able 
to bear transportation, and who were wilhng to give their paroles not to serve against 
the forces of the United States until regularly exchanged. This offer was made and 
accepted. These officers, as well as several of the wounded Spanish privates, 27 
in all, were sent to their lines under the escort of some of our mounted cavalry. Our 
vToops were received with honors, and I have every reason to believe the return of the 
"Spanish prisoners produced a good impression on their comrades. 

"The cessation of firing about noon on the 3d practically terminated the battle of 
{Santiago. 

"A few Cubans assisted in the attack at El Caney, and fought valianth^ but 
jheir numbers were too small to materially change the strength, as indicated above. 
The enemy confronted us with numbers about equal to our own; they fought ob- 
stinately in strong and intrenched positions, and the results obtained clearly indicate 
the intrepid gallantry of the company, officers and men, and the benefits derived from 
the careful training and instruction given in the company in recent 3'ears in rifle prac- 
tice and other battle exercises. Our L^ses in these battles were 22 officers and 208 men 
killed, and 81 officers and 1,203 men wounded; missing, 79. The missing, with few 
exceptions, reported later. 

"The arrival of General Escario on the night of July 2, and his entrance into the 
city was not anticipated, for although it was known, as previously stated, that Gen- 
eral Pando had left Manzanillo with reinforcements for the garrison of Santiago, 
it was not believed his troops could arrive so soon. General Garcia, with between 
four and five thousand Cubans, was intrusted with the duty of watching for and 



213 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH- AMEEICAN WAE. 

interceiDting the reinforcements expected. This, however, he failed to do, and Escario 
passed into the city along on mj extreme right and near the hay." 

On the 11th, when the firing ceased and was not resumed "the sickness in the 
army was increasing very rapidly, as a result of exposure in the trenches to the in- 
tense heat of the sun and the heavy rains. Moreover, the dews in Cuha are almost 
equal to rains. The weakness of the troops was becoming so apparent I was anxious 
to bring the siege to an end, but in common with most of the ofiicers of the army 
1 did not think an assault vrould be justifiable, especially as the enemy seemed to 
be acting in good faith in their preliminary propositions to surrender. 

•"July 12 I informed the Spanish Commander that Major-General Miles, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the American army, had just arrived in my camp, and requested 
him to grant us a personal interview on the following day. He replied he w^ould 
be pleased to meet us. The interview took place on the 13th." 

The Spanish raised many points, as is their habit, and were tenacious about re- 
taining their arms, but yielded, and '^^the terms of surrender finally agreed upon 
included about 12,000 Spanish troops in the city and as many more in the surren- 
dered district." 

July ITth "we met midway between the representatives of our two armies, and 
the Spanish Commander formally consummated the surrender of the city and the 
2J:,000 troops in Santiago and the surrendered district. 

"After this ceremony I entered the city with my staff and escort, and at 12 
o'clock noon the American flag was raised over the Governor's palace." 

The men and material surrendered by the Spaniards at Santiago largely exceeded 
the two English armies and their equipments at Saratoga and Yorktown. 

The yellow fever appeared in the American camp at Siboney July 4th, and the 
fact was soon known to the army. General Shatter says of the wounded and sick: 
"They received every attention that it was possible to give them. The medical of- 
ficers without exception worked night and day to alleviate the suffering, wliich 
was no greater than invariably accompanies a campaign. It would have been better 
if we had more ambulances, but as many were taken as was thought necessary, judg- 
ing from previous campaigns." 

General Joe Wheeler's report of the action of July 1st is a paper full of striking 
points. The movement into battle began in wading the San Juan river under heavy 
fire, and the General says: 

"We were as much under fire in forming the line as we would be by an advance, 
and I therefore pressed the command forward from the covering which it was formed. 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 213 

It merged into open space, in full view of tlie enemy, who occupied breastworks and 
batteries on the crest of the hill ^\■hich overlooked Santiago, officers and men falling 
at every step. The troops advanced gallant}', soon reached the foot of the hill and 
ascended, driving the enemy from their works and occupying them on the crest of the 
hill. 

"Colonel Carroll and Major "Wessels were both wounded diuing the charge, but 
Major Wessels was enabled to return and resume command. General Wyckoff, com- 
manding Kent's Third Brigade, was killed at 12:10. Lieutenant-Colonel Worth took 
command and was wounded at 12:15. Lieutenant-Colonel Liscum then took com- 
mand and was wounded at 12:20, and the command then devolved upon Lieutenant- 
Colonel Ewers, Ninth Infantry. 

"L^pon reaching the crest I ordered breastworks to be constructed, and sent to 
the rear for shovels, picks, spades, and axes. The enemy's retreat from the ridge was 
precipitate, but our men were so thoroughly exhausted that it was impossible for 
them to follow. Their shoes were soaked with water by wading the San Juan River; 
they had become drenched with rain, and when they reached the crest they were ab- 
solutely unable to proceed further. Notwithsatnding this condition these exhausted 
men labored during the night to erect breastworks, furnished details to bury the 
dead and carry the wounded back in imj^rovised litters." 

Wheeler's loss was 6 officers and 40 men Idlled, 29 officers and 288 men wounded, 
and 10 men missing — total 372, out of a force of 127 officers and 2,536 men. 

General Bates says that after his brigade remained for some time in the first 
cross road after wading the San Juan river: "We moved to the right to assault a 
small hill, occupied upon the top by a stone fort and well protected by rifle pits. 
General Chaffee's brigade charged them from the right, and the two brigades, join- 
ing upon the crest, opened fire from this point of vantage, lately occupied by the 
Spanish, upon the village of El Caney. 

"From this advantageous position the Spanish were easily driven from place to 
place in the village proper, and as fast as they sought shelter in one building were 
driven out to seek shelter elsewhere. The sharp-shooters of my command were en- 
abled to do effective work at this point. The town proper was soon pretty thoroughly 
cleaned out of Spanish, though a couple of blockhouses upon the hill to the right of 
the town offered shelter to a few, and some could be seen retreating along a mountain 
road leading to the northwest. A part of these made a stand in a field among some 
bowlders. 

General Lawton observes: "The light battery first opened on a column of Span- 



214 EVENTS OF THE SPAOTSH-AMEEICAN WAE. 

ish troops, which appeared to be cavalry moving westward from El Caney, and about 
2 miles range, resulting, as was afterwards learned, in killing 16 in the column." 

The General has much to say of a pleasing personal nature. 

The report of General Kent is of extraordinary merit for the exact detail and 
local color. Colonel McClernand, he says, "pointed out to me a green hill in the 
distance which was to be my objective on my left," and as he moved into action, 
"I proceeded to join the head of my division, just coming under heavy lire. Ap- 
proaching the First Brigade I directed them to move alongside the cavalry (which was 
halted). We were already suffering losses caused by the balloon near by attracting 
fire and disclosing our position. 

"The enemy's infantry fire, steadily increasing in intensity, now came from all 
directions, not only from the front and the dense tropical thickets on our flanks, but 
from sharpshooters thickly posted in trees in our rear, and from shrapnel apparently 
aimed at the balloon. Lieutenant-Colonel Derby, of General Shaffer's staff, met me 
about this time and informed me that a trail or narrow way had been discovered from 
the balloon a short distance back leading to the left to a ford lower down the stream. 
I hastened to the forks made by this road, and soon after the Seventy-first New 
York Eegiment of Hawkins' brigade came up. I turned them into the by path in- 
dicated by Lieutenant-Colonel Derby, leading to the lower ford, sending word to Gen- 
eral Hawkins of this movement. This would have speedily delivered them in their 
proper place on the left of their brigade, but under the galling fire of the enemy the 
leading battalion of this regiment was thrown into confusion and recoiled in dis- 
order on the troops in the rear." 

The Second and Third Battalions "came up in better order," but there was 
some delay, and General Kent says: 

"I had received orders some time before to keep in rear of the cavalry division. 
Their advance was much delayed, resulting in frequent halts, presumably to drop 
their blanket rolls and due to the natural delay in fording a stream. These delays 
under such a hot fire grew exceedingly irksome, and I therefore pushed the head 
of my division as quickly as I could toward the river in column files of twos parallel 
in the narrow way by the cavalry. This quickened the forward movement and en- 
abled me to get into position as speedily as possible for the attack. Owing to the con- 
gested condition of the road, the progress of the narrow columns was, however, pain- 
fully slow. I again sent a staff officer at a gallop to urge forward the troops in rear." 

The Second Brigade and Third "moved toward Fort San Juan, sweeping through 
a zone of most destructive fire, scahn^ a steep and difficult hill, and assisting in 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 215 

capturing the enemy's strong position (Fort San Juan) at 1:30 p. m. This crest was 
about 125 feet above the general level, and was defended by deep trenches and a loop- 
holed brick fort surrounded by barbed-wire entanglements." 

General Hawkins^ after General Kent reached the crest, "reported that the Sixth 
and Sixteenth Infantry had captured the hill, which I now consider incorrect. 
Credit is almost equally due the Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, Sixteenth, and Twenty- 
fourth regiments of infantry. Owing to General Hawkins' representations, I for- 
warded the report sent to corps headquarters about 3 p. m. that the Sixth and 
Sixteenth infantry regiments captured the hill. The Thirteenth Infantry captured 
the enemy^s colors waving over the fort, but, unfortunately, destroyed them, distrib- 
uting the fragments among the men, because, as was asserted, 'It was a bad omen,' 
two or three men having been shot w^hile assisting private Arthur Agnew, Company 
H, Thirteenth Infantry, the captor. x\ll fragments which could be recovered are sub- 
mitted with this report. 

"I have already mentioned the circumstances of my Third Brigade's advance 
across the ford, where in the brief space of ten minutes it lost its brave commander 
(killed) and the next two ranking officers by disabling wounds. Yet, in spite of 
these confusing conditions the formations were effected without hesitation, although 
under a stinging fire, companies acting singly in some instances, and by battalion and 
regiments in others, rushing through the jungle, across the stream waist deep, and 
over the wide bottom thickly set with barbed wire." 
General Kent says: 

"The bloody fighting of my. brave command can not be adequately described in 
words. The following list of killed, wounded, and missing tells the story of their 
valor: 

"July 1st the loss was 12 officers and TT men killed, 32 officers and -163 men 
wounded, 58 men missing. Total loss, 642." 

The following day the Spaniards resumed the battle, and the losses of Kent's 
command on the 2nd and 3d of July made up a total loss -in three days of 99 killed 
and 597 wounded, and 62 missing. General Shaffer said that before closing his 
report he desired to dwell upon "the natural obstacles I had to encounter, and 
which no foresight could have overcome or obviated. The rocky and precipitous 
coast afforded no sheltered landing places, the roads were mere bridle paths, the 
effect of the tropical sun and rains upon unacclimated troops w^as deadly, and a dread 
of strange and unknown diseases had its effect on the army. 

"The San Juan and Ao-uadores rivers would often suddenly rise so as to prevent 



216 EVENTS OF THE SPAmSlI-AMERICAJ^ WAE. 

the passage of wagons, and then the eight pack trains with the command had to 
be depended upon for the victuahng of my army, as well as the 20,000 refugees, who 
could not in the interests of humanity be left to starve while we had rations." 

During the Chicago Peace Jubilee, General Shafter made an address at the Ar- 
mory of the First Ilhnois Volunteers, and, released from the continual forms of 
official reports, added much of interest to the story of Santiago. He says of the 
send-off: 

''We were twice embarked and twice taken back to Tampa and disembarked. On 
the first occasion the cause was the appearance of Admiral Cervera's fleet; it requir- 
ing the entire navy that was disposable to go after that fleet, and the second time by 
a report that afterwards turned out to be incorrect, that in the St. Nicholas channel, 
through which we would have to go, some Spanish cruisers had been seen." 

When ordered to Tampa to command the first Cuban expedition, he continued: 

"I took the troops that I thought best fitted and prepared for that service. 
There were some magnificent regiments of volunteers, but to part of them I had 
issued arms only two or three days before. They were not properly equipped, and 
lacked experience. As I had the choice, I took all of the regulars that Avere there, 
and with them three regiments of volunteers. They were magniiicent men, as per- 
fect as men could be, but, as you know who served in '61, poorly prepared to take 
care of themselves at first. You recollect it was months before we were prepared, and 
we made numerous mistakes that led to sickness and death. The same things have 
occurred again, and they always will continue with troops that are not used to the 
field, and in this campaign men were taken directly from their camps immediately 
after being mustered in, and put into the most difficult campaign of modern military 
history. 

"I practically had the entire regular army of the United States, twenty of the 
twenty-five regiments of infantry, five of the ten regiments of cavalry, and five bat- 
teries of artillery, with three regiments of volunteers, the Seventy-first New York, 
I lie Second Massachusetts, and the regiment known as Eoosevelt's rough riderg. 
The last were practically seasoned soldiers. They were men from the frontier, men 
who had been accustomed for years to taking a little sack of corn meal on then- 
saddles, and a blanket, and going out to sleep out of doors for a week or a month 
at a time. Of course, they knew how to care for themselves in camp. 

"Early in June I was called to the telephone in Tampa, and told from the Presi- 
dent's mansion in Washington to proceed immediately with not less than 10,000 men 
to Santiago: that news had been received that day that the fleet of Cervera was surely 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISBL-AMERICAN WAR. 217 

within that harbor, and that if 10,000 men could be phiced there at once the fleet 
and the city could be captured in forty-eight hours. The horses and mules had been 
taken off from the ships as well as the men, and the time consumed in reloading tl^.e 
horses and mules allowed me to embark 17,000 men nearly. That was very fortunate 
for me and our cause." 

On arrival off Santiago, he, "with Admiral Sampson, went down the coast about 
twenty miles, and saw General Garcia, and asked him his opinion of the country, 
what his force was, and whether he was disposed to assist. I found him very willing 
and very glad to offer his services at once, with 3,000 men that he had with him and 
another thousand that he had up the country a little further, which were to join us 
immediately. In sailing along the coast, looking for a landing place, I selected two 
places — Siboney, a little indentation in the coast about twelve or thirteen miles east 
of Santiago, and another little bay about eight miles further east, where small streams 
entered into the sea, making a valley and a sandbar about 150 to 200 yards in extent. 
All the rest of the coast is abrupt, perpendicular walls of rock from ten to thirty feet 
high, against which the waves were dashing all the time, and where it is utterly im- 
possible to land. 

^•'We had the earnest and able support of the navy and their assistance in dis- 
embarking, and the next morning were bombarding the two little places and driv- 
ing the few hundred Spanish soldiers that were there away. We began disembark- 
ing, and before the end of the day the men were on shore, with 2,000 horses and 
mules that we had to throw overboard to get ashore, and the artillery." 

The General noted the loss of 17,000 troops out of 24,000 in the English army 
that besieged Havana in 1762, at the same time of year that he landed at Santiago, 
and remarked: 

-T knew that my entire army would be sick if it stayed long enough: that it was 
simply a question of getting that town just as soon as possible. I knew the strength, 
the courage, and the will of my men, or I thought I did, and the result shows that 
I was not mistaken. It was a question of starting the moment we landed and not 
stopping until vv'e reached. the Spanish outposts, and, therefore, as soon as a division 
was put on shore it was started on the march. 

"On the 21th the first engagement took place, in which we had between 800 
and 900 men on the American side and probably 1,000 or 1,200 on the Spanish. The 
enemy was strongly intrenched, showing only their heads, while the Amerienn 
forces had to march exposing their whole bodies to the fire of the enemy. 

"It is announced by military experts as an axiom that trained troops armed with 



218 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMEEICAN" WAE. 

the present breech-loading and rapid-firing arm cannot be successfully assailed by 
any troops who simply assault. Of course you can make the regular approaches and 
^ig up to them. The fallacy of that proposition was made very manifest that day 
^hen the men composing the advance marched as deliberately over those breast- 
works as they ever did when they fought with arms that you could only load about 
twice in a minute and of the range of only 200 or 300 3^ards. 

"This army was an army of marksmen. For fifteen years the greatest attention 
ias been paid to marksmanship^ and I suppose four-fifths of all the men in that army 
wore on their breasts the marksman's badge. I had given orders, knowing that 
the noise of firing is harmless and that shots put in the air are harmless — I had 
given the strictest orders to all- officers that their men should be told not to fire 
3L shot unless they could see something moving, and the firing was to be by individ- 
.laals, what is called file firing, individual firing. The Spanish troops, not so well drilled 
in firing as ours, used volley firing, which is very effective against large bodies of troops 
fflaassed and moving over a plain, but utterly inefficient when used against skirmishers 
moving over a rough country. In that battle, which lasted two hours, less than ten 
lounds of ammunition per man was fired by my men, and the losses, notwithstanding 
my men were exposed, their whole bodies, while the enemy were in trenches, where 
sniy their heads could be seen, were about equal. 

"I saw the commander of that force a few days later in Santiago, and in talking 
about it he said to me: ^Your men behaved very strange. We were much sur- 
prised. They were whipped, but they didn't seem to know it; they continued to ad- 
Tance (laughter and applause), and we had to go away.' He was quite right about 
3. They did have to go away. 

"On the 29th we had reached the immediate vicinity of the peaks in front of 
Santiago, about a mile and a half from the city. On the 30th I carefully recon- 
noitered the ground as much as one could in the dense undergrowth, and determined 
where I would make my attack, which was simply directed in front, and to make 
a direct assault. There was no attempt at strategy, and no attempt at turning their 
ilanks. It was simply going straight for them. In that I did not misjudge my 
men, and that is where I succeeded so well. (Applause.) If we had attempted to 
flank them out or dig them out by regular parallels and get close to them my men 
would have been sick before it could have been accomphshed, and the losses would 
kaye been many times greater than they were. 

'The only misfortune, as I judged it, of the first day's fight, but which I have since 
learned was for the best, was that immediately on our right, and what would be in 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMEKICAN WAR. 21» 

our rear when we attacked the town, was a little village called El Caney, four miles 
and a half from Santiago, and whence the best road in the country connected witfe 
Santiago. I did not know the exact force there, but it was estimated to be 1,000, and 
perhaps a little more, and it would, of course, have been very hazardous to have 
left that force so near in our rear. 

"Instead of finishing the affair by 9 o'clock, as we expected, it took until 4:3® 
o'clock in the afternoon before the last shot was fired, and then after a loss of nearly 
a hundred killed and 350 wounded on our side and the almost total annihilation of 
the force opposed to us. They had an idea that they would be killed, and when men 
beheve that it is hard to capture them. Just at the close of the battle three or four 
hundred did attempt to escape, but ran out in front of a brigade that they did not 
see, and in the course of about three or four hundred yards most of them were dead 
or mortally wounded, so that probably not more than twenty men on the other side 
escaped from that battle. It was a most desperate struggle. 

"Men were killed in the trenches by being knocked on the head with muskets, and 
one man I was shown two days later with what would be called a tremendous head 
on him, and the interpreter asked him how that had occurred, and he doubled up 
his fist and spoke of the soldier that had hit him as a black man, that he had dropped 
his gun and hit him in the head with his fist. That was pretty close work. 

"Meanwhile the battle in front of Santiago progressed, with three divisions on our 
side, one of dismounted cavalry and two of infantry. It was beautifully fought 
Every m.an knew what he had to do, and so did every officer. The orders were that 
immediately upon being deployed they were to attack. They did it. Every man 
kept going, and when one's comrade dropped the rest kept going. The result was 
that in about two hours the line was taken, and practically that afternoon the bat- 
tle of Santiago was ended, for those men never advanced beyond that point. 

"During the night I brought up the division of General Lawton that had been 
on the' right at Caney and put them on the extreme right, where I had intended to 
have them the day before, and where, had they been, we should probably have taken 
the town and have gotten only the men that were there, and not the 12,000 that 
were far beyond our reach who were surrendered a few days later. 

"On the morning of the 2d a weak attempt was made upon our lines. In that 
the Spaniards had to expose themselves, while my men were covered. The fight 
lasted but a little while, and they retreated. 

"On the morning of July 3 I thought we had so much of an advantage that f 
could notify the enemy, first, that I wanted a surrender, and, second, if they declined 



220 EVENTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMEEICAIS^ WAE. 

to surrencler that they could have twenty-four hours to get the women and children 
out of town. Of course, civilized people do not fire on towns filled with women 
and children if they will come out if it can be avoided. The Spanish commander 
declined very promptly to surrender, but said he would notify the women and chil- 
dren and those that desired to go, but he wanted twent3'-four hours more, and said 
there were a great many people to go out. They began to stream out at once, and 
for forty-eight hours old men, women, and children poured out until it was estimated 
that at least 20,000 people passed through our lines and out into the woods in the 
rear. Of course, there was an immense amount of suffering, and numbers died, 
especially of the old. Fortunately we were enabled to give them some food, enough 
so that they existed, but at that time, with the Cuban-forces that I had, I was issuing 
daily 45,000 rations. Forty-five thousand people are a good many to feed when you 
have such fearful roads and food could only be carried on the backs of mules. 

"On that morning of the 3d, about an hour after the time for surrendering, 
Cervera's fleet left the harbor, and went out, as you know, to total annihilation. It 
was not more than tw^enty or thirty minutes after they left the mouth of the harbor 
before, so far as we could hear, the firing had ceased, and 1,700 men were prisoners, 
600 were killed, and three or four battleships and some torpedo boats were either on 
the rocks or in the bottom of the sea — a most wonderful victory, never equaled be- 
fore in naval history, and due mainly to the magnificent marksmanship of our men, 
which covered the Spanish decks with such a hail of iron that no sailors on earth 
could stand against it. 

"Two days after this I saw General Toral, and I was convinced from conversation 
with him that he was going to surrender. I had no one but myself to take the 
responsibihty, in fact, I did not want anyone else to do it, but while I was convinced 
myself it was hard to convince others. I knew that we could capture the town at any 
time, that we had it surrounded so that they could not possibly get away, although 
on the night of July 2 2,800 men marched in. I had understood there were 8,000, 
but when we counted them a few days afterward there were only 2,800. I knew that 
if we carried that town by force a thousand men at least would be lost to the Ameri- 
cau army, and a thousand good American men are a good many to expend in cap- 
turing a Spanish town (applause), and I did not propose to do it if I could possibly 
talk them out of it. 

"General Toral knew just as well as I did that I knew just what he had— tha^ 
he was on his last rations, and that nothing but plain rice, that we had his retreat cut 
off, that we had the town surrounded, that he could not hurt us, while we could 



EVEXTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMEEICAX WAR. 221 

bombard him and do some little damage, perhaps, and that it was only a question 
of a few days. 

^'I found out a few days later what the hitch was which caused the delay, for 
General Toral had told me that he had been authorized by Blanco, the Governor- 
General, to enter into negotiations and make terms for surrender, and in Cuba you 
know General Blanco was in supreme command. His authority was such that he 
could even set aside a law of Spain. Knowing that, I felt sure that after very little 
delay they would surrender. They desired to get permission from the Madrid gov- 
ernment to return to Spain. It was that that delayed them. Immediately upon 
receiving the permission to return to Spain they surrendered. 

"I had in line when the fighting was going on, about 13,000 men— not more than 
that at any time. Inside the Spanish trenches there were about 10,000. There 
were 11,500 surrendered, and I think about 1,500 of them were sick. The dispro- 
portion, considering the difference of situation, is not very great. In fact, I think 
that 10,000 American soldiers could have kept 100,000 Spaniards out had they been 
in the same position (applause), although I do not wish to disparage the bravery 
of the Spanish troops. They are gallant fellows, but they have not the intelligence 
and do not take the initiative as do the American soldiers; and they have not the 
bull-dog pluck that hangs on day after day. 

^•'Toral made the first proposition to surrender. He said if I would let him take 
his men and such things as they could carry on their persons and on a few pack 
mules that they had and guarantee him safe conduct to Holguin, which was fifty- 
iw^o miles awav to the north and in the interior, thev would march out. I told him, 
of course, that was out of the question; that I could not accept any such terms 
as that, but I would submit it to the President. I did so, and was very promptly 
informed that only unconditional surrender would be received, but I was at liberty 
to say to General Toral that if they would surrender they would be carried, at the 
expense of the United States government, back to Spain. When that proposition was 
made to him I could see his face lighten up and the faces of his staff, who were there. 
They were simply delighted. Those men love their country intensel}', they had been 
brought to Cuba against their will, and had stayed there three years, poorly clad, 
not paid at all, and not well fed, and the prospect of going back to their homes had 
as much to do with conforming their views to our wishes as anything that was done 
during the campaign. 

"Meanwhile ten or twelve days had elapsed and I had received quite a number of 
Yolunteer regiments— two from Michigan, the First District of Columbia, a Massachu- 



222 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAE. 

setts regiment, and an Ohio regiment, the Eighth Ohio — all splendid troops and well 
equipped, and while they were not there at the hardest of the fighting they were there 
during the sujffering, and everything that soldiers were called upon to do they did 
like men. 

"It is a great deal harder to stand np day after day and see companions go from 
sickness and disease than it is to face the perils of battle. 

"When I told General Toral that we would carry his men back he said: ^Does 
that include my entire command?' I said: ^What is your command and where are 
they?' He replied the Fourth Army Corps; 11,500 men in the city, 3,000 twenty 
miles in the rear of us; 7,500 he said were up the coast less than sixty miles, and 
about 1,500 125 to 150 miles off on the northeastern coast. 

"There were 3,440 odd, and at a place less than sixty miles east there were 
7,500 and a few over, because we counted them and took their arms. The result of 
that surrender was as unexpected to us as probably it was to every person in the 
United States. There was simply a little army there, which had gone down to as- 
sist the navy in getting the Spanish fleet out and capturing that town, and we ex- 
pected no other result from it than victory at the spot at the utmost, but in at- 
tacking the limb we got the whole body. It was expected that, beginning about the 
first of October, the objective point of the campaign was to be Havana, where we 
knew there were from 125,000 to 150,000 men, and it was expected that about the 
first of October a large army would be sent over there, and the battle that would 
decide the war would be fought in the vicinity of Havana. I think that was the 
universal feeling. The loss of that city and of those 24,000 men — 23,376, to be ac- 
curate — so dispirited them that within a week the proposition of Spain to close the 
war was made, and, happil}^, the war was ended. 

"The difficulties of that campaign were not in the fighting. That was the easiest 
part of it. The difficulties were in getting food and medicine to the front. There 
was but a single road, a muddy and terrible road, and with five or six wagons going 
over it the sixth wagon would be on the axle tree, and in taking up some artillery I 
had fourteen horses on one battery that was usually drawn by four, and even with 
that number it went out of sight, and we had to leave it and dig it out after the 
water had subsided.'^ 

Admiral Sampson's report, dated August 3d, was published October 23d, and 
covers the conduct of the ffeet under his command, in its operations in the West 
Indies, for about two months prior to the destruction of Admiral Cervera's ships on 
July 3. It was made up largely of official dispatches and the movements of the 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 223 

fleets with explanations and comment by the Admiral^ and begins with a statement 
of the determination reached by the Navy department to send a squadron to the 
Windward Passage for the purpose of observation, because of tlie information re- 
reived of the sailing, on April 29, of Admiral Cervera's squadron from the Cape 
Verde Islands. 

On the voyage eastward from the naval base at Key West, which began on May 
4, Admiral Sampson reports there was experienced endless trouble and delay because 
of the inefficiency of the two monitors accompanying the other ships, and which had 
to be taken in tow. Their coal supply was so small that it was at once evident that 
they must either frequently coal or be towed. The Admiral says: 

"Had the sea been rough, or had the enemy appeared at this juncture, the squad- 
ron would have been in a much better position for an engagement had the monitors 
been elsewhere. Subsequently, when engaging the batteries of San Juan, it was evi- 
dent that their shooting was bad. 

"Owing to the quick rolling of these vessels, even in a moderate sea, they were 
unable to fire Avith any degree of accuracy.^^ 

Among the telegram^s received by the Admiral from the department at Wash- 
ington when off Cape Haytien was the following: 

Washington, D. C, May 6. — Do not risk or cripple your vessels against fortifica- 
tions as to prevent from soon afterwards successfully fighting Spanish fleet, com- 
posed of Pelayo, Carlos V., Oquendo, Vizcaya, Maria Teresa, Cristobal Colon, four 
deep sea torpedo boats, if they should appear on this side. LONG. 

It was determined to go to Porto Rico, and the squadron arrived off San Juan 
on the morning of the 12th and the bombardment of that place ensued. Regarding 
his action at this place the Admiral says: 

"It w^as clear to my own mind that the squadron would not have any great diffi- 
culty in forcing the surrender of the place, but the fact that we should be held several 
days in completing arrangements for holding it; that part of our force would have 
to be left to await the arrival of troops to garrison it; that the movements of the 
Spanish squadron, our main objective, were still unknown; that the flying squadron 
was still north and not in a position to render any aid; that Havana, Cervera's 
natural objective, was thus open to entry by such force as his, while we were a thou- 
sand miles distant, made our immediate movement toward Havana imperative. 

"I thus reluctantly gave up the project against San Juan and stood westward 
for Havana.'' r 

Several telegrams are here presented, based on reports that Cervera's squa'ih'on 



r-i4 EVEXTS OF THE SPAXISH- AMERICAN WAE. 

had returned to Cadiz and tlie}^ had in view ^^to return and capture San Juan, the de- 
sire to do so and occupy the phice being assurea in the event of Admiral Cervera's 
faihire to cross the Atlantic/' 

Short!}' after news was received that the Spanish fleet had appeared off Curacoa, 
West Indies, and the squadron under orders from the department proceeded to Key 
West, to which place the fl3'ing squadron under Commodore (now Admiral) Schley 
had already been ordered. 

Arrangements were then hurriedly made and the fijmg squadron, augmented by 
the other vessels under Commodore Scliley, was seni off Cienfuegos, where it was be- 
lieved the enemy would go, in which case an effori was to be made to engage and 
capture him. Sampson was given tlie choice eitner of the command of the block- 
ading Svquadron off Havana or at Cienfuegos, Schley in either case to remain with 
his own squadron. 

From messages received by the Admiral from the department about May 20 it ap- 
pears that reports had reached the United States that the Spanish fleet was at San- 
tiago, so the department advised Sampson to send immediately word to Schley to 
proceed to that place, leaving one small vessel off Cienfuegos. 

On May 21 instructions were written by Samnson for Commodore Schley and 
sent to him via the Marblehead regarding the possibility of the Spanish fleet being 
at Santiago. They are in part as follows: 

United States Flagship ^N'ew York, First Eate, Key "West, Fla., May 21. — Sir: 
Spanish squadron is probably at Santiago de Cuba — four ships and three torpedo boat 
destroyers. If you are satisfied they are not at Cienfuegos proceed with all dispatch, 
but cautiously, to Santiago de Cuba, and if the enemy is there blockade him in port. 
You will probably find it necessary to establish communication with some of the 
inhabitants — fishermen or others — to learn definitely that the ships are in port, it 
being impossible to see into it from the outside. 

The Admiral said he felt much concerned as to the delivery of these orders 
and sent a dupHcate by the Hawk with an additional memorandum. The ildmiral 
suggested that if the information did not reach Commodore Schley before dayhght 
of May 23 to mask the real direction he should take as much as possible. He adds: 
"Follow the Spanish squadron whichever direction they take." 

The Admiral off Havana gives copies of orders of battle which were to be fol- 
lowed in the event that Cervera left Scintiago on the approach of Schley's fleet from 
Cienfuegos and attempted to cruise around the coast to Havana, in which case rne 
Havana squadron would attempt to intercept him by going east about 200 miles be- 



EVENTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMERICAX WAR. 225 

yond the junetion of Santiren and IvTieholas Channels. Strict orders were given for 
screening hghts and to see that none were accidentally shown. 

The squadron was to crnise generally to the eastward in the day and westward 

during the night. 

On May 23, as shown by the report, Commodore Schley expressed the belief that 
the Spaniards were at Cienfuegos. On the 2Tth the xldmiral sent word to Schley, 
directing him to proceed with all possible speed to Santiago because of information 
received that the Spaniards were there. The same time orders were sent to have the 
collier Sterhng dispatched to Santiago with an expression of opinion that the 
Commodore should use it to obstruct the channel at its narrowest part leading into 
the harbor. 

The details of the plan were left to the Commodore's judgment, as he (Sampson) 
had ^'the utmost confidence in his ability to carry this plan to a successful concludon. 
and earnestly wished him good luck." 

Sampson apparently felt certain of the presence of the Spaniards at Santiago and 
urged that the harbor must be blockaded at all hazards. Schley in the meantime had 
proceeded to Santiago, although it appears not the same day Admiral Sampson ex- 
pected. 

At one time Commodore Schley contemplated going to Key West Avith the 
squadron for coal, but this was abandoned, his collier having been temporarily re- 
paired, and the necessity for a trip to Key West being avoided Santiago was then 
blockaded. 

Admiral Sampson arrived at Santiago June 1st. June 8 the Admiral urged upon 
the department, as he had previously done, to expedite the arrival of the troops for 
Santiago, the difficulty of blockading the Spanish ships daily increasing. 
In a memorandum dated June 15, the Admiral says: 

"The Commander-in-Chief desires again to call the attention of the commanding 
officers to the positions occupied by the blockading fleet, especially during the day- 
time, and it is now directed that all ships keep within a distance of the entrance to 
Santiago of four miles, and this distance must not be exceeded. 

"If the vessel is coaling or is otherwise restricted in its movements it must never- 
theless keep within this distance. If at any time the flagship makes signal which 
is not visible to any vessel, such vessel must at once approach the flagship or re- 
treating vessel to a point where it can read the signal. 

"Disregard of the directions which have already been given on this head has led 
to endless confusion. Many times during the day the fieet is so scattered that it 



226 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMEEICAN WAE. 

would be perfectly possible for the enemy to come out of the harbor and meet ^v.ith 
little opposition. 

^'The Commander-in-Chief hopes that strict attention will be given this order." 

In the order of battle incidental to the landing of Shafter's army corps June 22, 
when ships were sent to shell the beach and cover the landing of the men, the follow- 
ing occurs: 

"The attention of commanding ojBficers of all vessels engaged in blockading 
Santiago de Cuba is earnestly called to the^ necessity of the utmost vigilance from this 
time forward, both as to maintaining stations and readiness for action and as to keep- 
ing a close watch upon the harbor mouth. If the Spanish Admiral ever intends 
to attempt to escape that attempt will be made soon.^^ 

The Admiral says trouble was experienced in the landing of Shafter's army on 
account of the wandering proclivities of some of the transports. The progress of the 
disembarkation was rendered somewhat difficult by a heavy sea, the heaviest during 
the three weeks the fleet had been stationed there, owing to a stiff blow off the coast 
of Jamaica. 

According to a dispatch to Secretary Long, dated June 26, the channel at Santi- 
ago not having been obstructed by the sinking of the Merrimac, Admiral Sampson 
was preparing a torpedo attack to hasten the destruction of the Spanish vessels, 
although he regretted resorting to this method because of its difficulties and small 
chance of success. He would not do this, he says, were the present force' to be kept 
there; as it then insured a capture, which he believed would terminate the war. 

There was contemplated at this time sending a fleet to the Spanish coast; and 
this expedition was to consist of the Iowa, Oregon, Newark, Yosemite, Yankee, and 
Dixie, and they were to go to the Azores for orders, en route to Tangier, Morocco. 
The colliers were to join the fleet at the Azores. 

On June 30 the Admiral received a communication from Major-General Shafter 
announcing that he expected to attack Santiago the following morning, and asking 
that he (Sampson) bombard the forts at Aguadores in support of a regiment of in- 
fantry, and make such demonstrations as he thought proper at the harbor's mouth, 
so as to keep as many of the enemy there as possible. 

This request was complied with, and on July 1 General Shafter asked that the 
Admiral keep up his fight on the Santiago water front. On July 2 the following 
was received from General Shafter. 

"Terrible fight yesterday, but my line is now strongly intrenched about three- 
fourths of a mile from town. I urge that you make effort immediately to force the 



EVEXTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMEEICAX WAR. 227 

entrance to avoid future losses among my men, which are already heavy. You can 
now ojDerate with less loss of life than I can. Please telephone answer." 

A reply was telephoned General Shafter from Admiral Sampson, through Lieu- 
tenant Stanton, which said the Admiral had bombarded the forts at the entrance of 
Santiago and also Punta Gorda battery inside, silencing their fire, and asked whether 
he (Shafter) wanted further firing on the Admiral's part. The explanation was made 
that it was impossible to force an entrance until the channel was cleared of mines 
■ — a work of some time after the forts were taken possession of by the troops. To 
this General Shafter replied: 

^^It is impossible for me to say when I can take batteries at entrance of harbor. 
If they are as difficult to take as those which we have been pitted against it will be 
some time a^id at great loss of life. I am at a loss to see why the navy cannot 
work under a destructive fire as well as the army. My loss yesterday was over 500 
men. By all means keep up fire on everything in sight of you until demolished. I 
expect, however, in time and with sufficient men to capture the forts along the bay." 

On the 2nd of July, Sampson wTote to Shafter, 

'*An officer of my staff has already reported to you the firing which we did this 
morning, but I must say in addition to what he told you that the forts which we 
silenced were not the forts which would give you any inconvenience in capturing the 
cit}', as they cannot fire except to seaward. They cannot even prevent our entrance 
into the harbor of Santiago. Our trouble from the first has been the channel to the 
harbor is well strewn with observation mines, which would certainly result in the 
sinking of one or more of our ships if we attempted to enter the harbor, and by the 
sinking of a ship the object of attempting to enter the harbor would be defeated by 
the preventing of further progress on our part. 

"It was my hope that an attack on your part of these shore batteries from the 
rear would leave us at liberty to drag the channel for torpedoes. 

"If it is your earnest desire that we should force our entrance I will at once 
prepare to undertake it. I think, however, that our position and yours would be made 
more difficult if, as is possible, we fail in our attempt. 

"We have in our outfit at Guantanamo forty countermining mines, which I will 
bring here with as little delay as possible, and if we can succeed in freeing the en- 
trance of mines by their use I will enter the harbor. 

"This work, which is unfamiliar to us, will require considerable time. 

"It is not so much the loss of men as it is the loss of ships which has until now 
deterred me from making a direct attack upon the ships within the port." 



228 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 

The Admiral says he began making preparations to countermine, and, with the 
object of arranging an attack upon the batteries at the entrance a visit was arranged 
to General Shafter, so that the matter might be thoroughly discussed, and com- 
bined action take place. 

He adds: "I had in view the emploj^ment of the marines for* an assault on 
either the Morro or Socapa batter}^, while at the same time assaulting the defenses at 
the entrance with the fleet/^ 

The Admiral says of the sortie and destruction of Cervera's fleet: 

''This event closes the purely naval campaign, crowning with complete success 
the anxious work of almost exactly two months." 

The error of Commodore Schley as to the location of Cervera's fleet, his hesi- 
tation in accepting the report of the Spaniards' presence at Santiago, appears to have 
caused the advancement of Admiral Sampson and subordinated Schley. Out of this 
came differences of opinion about facts among the close friends of the two dis- 
tinguished officers. Schley was close at hand when Cervera's run from Santiago 
took place, while Sampson was out of the way on other duty, and Schley has been 
charged with an evasive movement of the New York just then that lost valuable time. 
It is related by the AYashington staff correspondent of the Chicago Times-Herald that 
just after the battle of Santiago, Commodore Schley went aboard the Iowa 
and hailed Captain Evans with the remark that it had been a great day for the Amer- 
ican navy. 

''But why didn't you obey orders and close in on the mouth of the harbor instead 
of heading out to sea?" inquired Evans. 

Commodore Schley's reply was that he was afraid the Yizcaya would ram the 
Brooklyn. This colloquy referred to a striking maneuver of the flagship Brooklyn 
early in the engagement at Santiago, which has been commented on before. In jus- 
tice to Commodore ScMey the navy department officers admit the Spanish officers 
after the battle said that it had been their purpose, on emerging from the harbor, to 
have the Yizcaya ram the Brooklyn, believing that the Spanish cruisers could outrun 
the remaining vessels in the American fleet, most of which were battleships, sup- 
posed to be of a lower ratfe of speed than the Spanish cruisers. 

The action of the Yizcaya as she headed toward the Brooklyn indicated her de- 
termination to carry out this programme. But the remark of Captain Evans to the 
nominal commander of the squadron would under ordinary circumstances have 
been an act of insubordination and only illustrates the feeling of some of the cap- 
tains of the fleet toward the Commodore. 



EVE:N^TS of the SPANISH-AMEEICAN war. 2 9 

It has been said that Sc-hley^ being ordered to Key West when Cervera ap- 
peared in Cuban waters, ''proceeded to Cienfuegos, which was thought to be the des- 
tination of the Spanish warships. That port commanded the only direct railroad con- 
nection with Havana, and had the Spanish fleet gone there Admiral Cervera could 
have relieved General Blanco with money and munitions of war and received in 
return supplies necessary for his squadron. It is believed even now that had the 
Spanish ships been properly supplied and equipped they would have gone to Cien- 
f uegos instead of to Santiago. But subsequent developments have shown that 
Admiral Cervera was permitted to take only enough coal to carry him to the nearest 
port, Santiago.'' 

Schley credited Cervera with knowing enough to know that Cienfuegos was 
the better port for his purposes, and therefore adhered to his opinion, and Sampson 
was made his superior ciliccT, So important have the differences seemed that the 
Wainwright Board was convened to investigate the parts taken in the Santiago naval 
battle respectively by Admiral Sampson and Admiral Schley. But in official phrasj 
this board was convened for the purpose of determining the position and cour.-cj 
of the ships engaged in the action at Santiago July 3, and reporting to the Secretary 
of the N'avy. 

The report is: 

"U. S. F. S. New York, First Eate, Xavy Yard, Xew York, Oct. 8, 1898.— Sir: 
In obedience to your order of Sept. 2, 1898, appointing us a board to plot the posi- 
tions of the ships of Admiral Cervera's squadron and those of the United States 
fleet in the battle of July 3, off Santiago de Cuba, we have the honor to submit the 
following report, accompanied by a chart, showing the positions of the ships at seven 
different times. 

'•'These times, as taken by the United States ships engaged, with the incidents 
noted, are as follows: 

"iSTo. 1, 9:35 a. m. — Maria Teresa came out of the harbor. 

"No. 2, 9:50 a. m. — Pluton came out. 

"No. 3, 10:15 a. m. — Maria Teresa turned to run ashore. 

"No. 4, 10:20 a. m. — Oquendo turned to run ashore. 

"No. 5, 10:30 a. m. — Furor blew up and Pluton turned to run ashore. 

"No. 6, 11:05 a. m. — Yizcaya turned to run ashore. 

"No. 7, 1:15 p. m. — Colon surrendered. 

"The chart selected by the board for plotting is II. 0. chart No. 716, 1885, AVest 
Indies, eastern part of Baham.a Islands, with part of Cuba and north coast of San 



230 EVENTS OE THE SPAOTSH-AMERICAN WAR. 

Domingo. This selection was made after a careful comparison with all other charts 
at hand, as the positions of the principal headlands and inlets and the distances be- 
tween them on it agree more nearly with the observation of members of the board 
than those given by any other. 

"The positions of the United States ships were established by known bearings 
and distances from the Morro at No. 1, with the exception of the New York, whose 
position is plotted by the revolutions of its engines during a run of fort^-five minutes 
cast from its position, southeast half south of the Morro, 6,000 yards. Position at No. 
2 is plotted by all ships according to their relative bearings from each other, the 
operations of their engines from 9:35 to 9:50, the evidence of the officers on board 
them, and the ranges used in firing at the Spanish ships. Position No. 3 is plotted 
from observations of the officers of the United States ships, with regard to their 
nearness to each other, and relative bearings of themselves from Teresa, with 
ranges in use at the time, the jDerformance of the engines, and general heading 
of the ships. Position No. 4 same as No. 3, substituting Oquendo for Teresa. Posi- 
tion Nos. 5, 6, and 7 are plotted on the same general plan. 

"Before plotting these positions the board took each ship separately and discussed 
the data for the position under consideration — this data being obtained from the 
report of the commanding officers, notes taken during the action, and the evidence 
of the members of the board. In reconciling differences of opinion in regard to dis- 
tances, bearings, ranges, etc., full liberty was given to the representative of the ships 
under discussion to bring in any argument or data he considered necessary, and the 
board submits this report with a feeling that, under the circumstances, it is as nearly 
correct as is possible so long after the engagement. Very respectfully, 

"RICHARD WAINWRIGHT, 
^^Lieutenant Commander^ U. S. N., Senior Member. 

"S. P. COMLY, 
• "Lieutenant, U. S. N. 
"L. C. HEILNER, 
"Lieutenant, U. 'S. N. 
"W. H. SCHUETZE, 
"Lieutenant, "U. S. N. 
"A. C. HODGSON, 
"Lieutenant, U. S. N. 

"W. H. ALLEN, 
"Lieutenant, U. S. N. 
''EDWARD E. CAPEHART, 

"Lieutenant, U. S. N. 
"To the Commander-in-Chief." 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. 231 

Measurements upon the chart showing the positions of the vessels at the speci- 
fied times named in the report will give as fair an idea of the work of the board as 
can be made without the chart itself. 

"Position No. 1, 9:35 a. m. When the Maria Teresa came out of the harbor the 
New York was nine miles east of Morro, accompanied by the Hist and Ericsson. The 
Brooklyn was three miles southwest of Morro, being two and two-tenths miles from 
the shore west of the mouth of the harbor. The Texas was eight-tenths of a mile 
east of the Brooklyn; the Iowa one and eight-tenths miles east and south of the 
Brooklyn, and the Oregon a half mile east of the Iowa, the Iowa being three miles 
directly south of Morro, The Indiana was two and two-tenths miles southwest of Mor- 
10 and the Gloucester one mile almost directly north of the Indiana, a mile and four- 
tenths from Morro. 

"Position No. 2, 9:50 a. m. When the Pluton came out all the Spanish vessels 
had come out of the harbor and their positions were: Maria Teresa two and a half 
miles southwest of Morro, the Yizcaya, Colon and Oquendo, in the order named, 
behind the Teresa and from four-tenths to half a mile apart. The position of the 
American vessels were: The New York had moved up two and one-tenth miles 
westv/ard. The Brooklyn had started north, swerved to the northeast and toward 
the mouth of the harbor, and was turning east on the swing it made to the right and 
around to the westward course; it was eight-tenths of a mile from the Vizcaya. At 
position No. 2 the Texas first went east a half mile, swinging toward the harbor, 
then turning to the left it is at No. 2 a half mile directly north of the first position. 
The Iowa moved by a var3dng course northwest and was a mile and four-tenths 
from the Yizcaya, the Oregon being two-tenths of a mile behind the Iowa, the 
Indiana three-tenths behind the Iowa. The Gloucester's first start was half a mile 
directly away from the harbor, but swinging to the right, had advanced toward the 
Spanish ships, being one and seven-tenths miles from the nearest, the Oquendo. 

"Position No. 3, 10:15 a. m. Maria Teresa turned to run ashore. It was five and 
one-half miles from Morro. The Vizcaya was two and three-tenths miles westward 
from the Teresa, the Oquendo one and two-tenths miles, and the Colon one and 
four-tenths miles in advance of the Teresa. The American vessels were as follows: 
The New York had come within three miles of Morro, being southeast of that 
point. The Brooklyn had made its swing to the westward, crossing its track, and was 
two and one-half miles south and west of the Teresa, and one and three-tenths 
miles directly south of the Colon, and one and one-tenth miles and a little behind 
the Vizcaya, one and three-tenths miles and a little in advance of the Oquendo. The 



232 EVEXTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMERICAX \YAR. 

Texas was one and two-tenths miles from the Teresa^ a little behind it^ and one and 
four-tenths miles from and beliind the next Spanish ship, the Oquendo. The Iowa 
was one and one-tenth miles from the Teresa and a little closer in, but not quite 
as far west as the Texas. The Oregon had pulled up and passed the Texas and 
Iowa, being a little further in shore than the Texas and a little further out than the 
Iowa. It was in advance of the Teresa, being one and seven-tenths miles from that 
vessel, six-tenths of a mile from and directly in the line of the Oquendo, seven-tenths 
of a mile from the Colon, and one and two-tenths miles behind the Vizcaya. The In- 
diana was two miles from the Texas and two and six-tenths miles from the Oquendo, 
the nearest Spanish vessel. The Gloucester had move^ up six-tenths of a mile and 
was just a mile directly south of Morro. *\ 

"Position No. 4, 10:20 a. m. Oquendo- turned to run ashore. Only five minutes 
elapsed from position No. 3. All vessels had been running westward without material 
changes in their positions. The Colon had run one and three-tenths miles, the 
Vizcaya about one-tenth of a mile less, and swerved to the left, bringing it to within 
one and one-tenth miles of the Brooklyn. The Iowa was the same distance, but al- 
most directly astern, and the Oregon was one and three-tenths miles from the A^iz- 
caya, but farther out to sea. The Iowa was eight-tenths of a mile from the Oquendo, 
the Oregon nine-tenths of a mile from the same vessel, and both somewhat in ad- 
vance of the doomed Spanish ship. The Indiana had advanced eight-tenths of a 
mile and was two and six-tenths miles away from the Oquendo, the nearest Spanish 
ship. The New York had advanced nearly a mile, but was not yet abreast of Morro. 
The Gloucester had run over two miles and was now^ well west of Morro, but five 
miles east of the Oquendo. 

"Position No. 5, 10:30 a. m. Furor blew up and Pluton turned to run ashore. 
This is ten minutes later than position No. 4. The Gloucester had run a little more 
than two miles, and was four-tenths of a mile from the Furor and but little further 
from the Pluton. The New York had run two and two-tenths miles, and was three 
and three-tenths miles from the Furor, the nearest Sioanisli ship, and two and two- 
tenths miles south and a little west of Morro. The Colon had run two and nine- 
tenths miles, and the Vizcaya two and seven-tenths miles. The Brooklyn had run 
two and three-tenths miles, and was one and two-tenths miles from the Vizcaya 
and one and six-tenths miles from the Colon, which was running nearer the shore. The 
Oregon had sailed two and a half miles, and was one and one-half miles from the 
Vizcaya, and about the same distance from the Colon. The Texas was one and two- 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISPI-AMERICAN WAE. 233 

teiitlls miles astern of the Oregon, two and four-tenths miles from the Oregon. 
The Indiana was one and one-half miles astern of the Texas. 

"Position Xo. 6, 11:05 a. m. Yizcaya turned to run ashore. In thirty-five 
minutes the Vizcaya had sailed about seven miles, and was off the mouth of the 
Aserradero Eiver. The Colon had run five and one-half miles further, and was more 
than that distance in advance of any of the American vessels. The Brooklyn was one 
and three-tenths miles distant from the Vizcaya and slightly behind it. The Oregon 
was one and a half miles from the Vizcaya, but nearer the shore and somewhat more 
astern of the enemy. The Texas was two and seven-tenths miles from the Vizcaya 
and directly astern of the Oregon. The Iowa was three and two-tenths miles directly 
astern of the Vizcaya. The New York was five miles behind the Iowa. The Ericsson 
had kept along with the New York all the time, and was, at this position, one-half 
a mile in advance of it. The Indiana was nearly four miles behind the Iowa. 

^•'Position Xo. 7, 1:15 p. m. The Colon surrendered. In the two hours and ten 
minutes from the last position given the vessels had coursed westward a great dis- 
tance. The Colon had run twenty-six and one-half miles and w-as off the Tarquino 
Eiver. The Brooklyn was the nearest American vessel. It had sailed twentv-eisjht 
and one-half miles and was three and four-tenths miles from the Colon. The Oregon was 
four and one-half miles from the Colon andmore in shore than the Brooklyn. The Tex- 
as was three and four-tenths milesbehind the Oregon. TheNew York was nine and one- 
half miles from the Colon. Xo one of the other vessels had come up save the Vixen, 
which was abreast of the Xew York. This little vessel in the beginning of the fight 
steamed out to sea and sailed westward on a course about two and one-quarter miles 
from that of the nearest Spanish ships. 

"The tracings of the chart show that the Spanish vessels sailed on courses not 
more than three-tenths of a mile apart until the Oquendo ran ashore. Then the Viz- 
caya veered out to sea an! the Colon kept nearer the shore, their courses beino- about 
seven-tenths of a mile apart. Up to the time the Oquendo went ashore the Iowa. 
Indiana, Oregon, and Texas sailed on courses within three-tenths of a mile of each 
other, the Iowa being the nearest and the Texas the farthest from the course of the 
Spanish ships. The Brooklyn's course was from three-tenths to one-half of a mile 
outside that of the Texas. The swing to the right which the Brooklyn made at the 
beginning of the engagement shows an oval four-tenths of a mile across. It crossed 
the courses of the Texas, Oregon, and Indiana twice while making the turn, but 
before these vessels had gone over them. The course of the Xew York after passing 
^Forro was nearer the shore than any other United States vessel except the Glouces- 



234 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMEEICAN WAE. 

ter, and a mile behind where the Oquedo turned to run ashore it passed inside 
the courses of the Spanish vessels. Ten miles west of the Vizcaya disaster it crossed 
the Colon's track, but followed close the course of that vessel until the latter sur- 
rendered. 

"The Iowa, Indiana, and Ericsson did not go further west than where the Viz- 
caya ran ashore. The Gloucester stopped by the Maria Teresa and Oquendo, as 
also did the Hist. The latter vessel was not able to keep pace with the New York 
and Ericsson, the vessels it was with at the beginningj of the battle,'' 

Major General Nelson A. Miles was carrying on, as a master of the art and sci- 
ence of war, a prospering campaign in Porto Eico, when the protocol of peace be- 
tween the United States and Spain was signed, and "the war drum throbbed" no 
longer. It is the testimony of those who have studied the management of the inva- 
sion of Porto Eico by the military head of the army, that it was going on guided 
"^ith consummate skill when the war closed. The American forces had the pleasure 
in Porto Eico of moving in a country that had not been desolated as Cuba was. The 
island was a tropical picture of peace, only the glitter of armies breaking the spell. 
The defenders had the help of good roads, by which they could, on the inner lines, 
shift their columns with rapidity and ease. But the Porto Eico people were largely 
favorable to United States sovereignty — just as the Cubans would be if it were not 
for the selfishness and jealousies, hatreds and scheming, regardless of the favor or 
prosperity of the people, that the most deplorable warfare known in the later years 
of the earth has engendered. It was on October 18, 1898, that the American 
flag was raised over San Juan de Porto Eico. The telegram of the Associated Press 
contained this announcement of the ceremony and symbol by which was announced 
the glorious initial chapter of a new dispensation that adds to America's territory one 
of the loveliest islands of the sea: 

San Juan de Porto Eico, Oct. 18. — Promptly at noon to-day the American flag 
was raised over San Juan. The ceremony was quiet and dignified, unmarred by dis- 
order of any kind. 

The Eleventh Eegular Infantry, with two batteries of the Fifth Artillery, landed 
this morning. The latter proceeded to the forts, while»the infantry lined up on the 
docks. It was a holiday for San Juan, and there were many people in the streets. 

Eear Admiral Schley and General Gordon, accompanied by their staffs, pro- 
ceeded to the palace in carriages. The Eleventh infantry Eegiment and band, with 
Troop H of the Sixth United States Cavalry, then marched through the streets and 
formed in the square opposite the palace. 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN AVAR. 235 

At 11:40 a. m. General Brooke^ Admiral Schley, and General Gordon, the United 
States Evacuation Commissioners, came out of the palace, with many naval officers, 
and formed on the right side of the square. The streets behind the soldiers were 
thronged with townspeople, who stood waiting in dead silence. 

At last the city clock struck the hour of 12 and the crowds, almost breathless and 
with eyes fixed upon the flagpole, watched for developments. At the sound of the 
first gun from Fort Morro, Major Dean and Lieutenant Castle, of General Brooke's 
staff, hoisted the Stars and Stripes, while the band played the "Star Spangled 
Banner." 

All heads were bared and the crowds cheered. Fort Morro, Fort San Cristobal, 
and the United States revenue cutter Manning, lying in the harbor, fired twenty-one 
guns each. 

Senor Munoz Rivera, who was President of the recent autonomist council of 
secretaries, and other officials of the late insular government, were present at the pro- 
ceedings. 

Congratulations and handshaking among the American officers followed. En- 
sign King hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the intendencia, but all other flags on the 
various public buildings were hoisted by military officers. Simultaneously with the 
raising of the flag over the Captain General's palace many others were hoisted in 
different parts of the city. 

Washington, D. C, Oct. 18. — The War Department has received the following 
to-day: 

"San Juan, Porto Rico, Oct. 18. — Secretary of War, Washington, D. C: Flags 
have been raised on public buildings and forts in this city and saluted with national 
salutes. The occupation of the island is now complete. 

"BROOKE, Chairman." 

The two Spanish fleets — of the East and West Indies, were annihilated, the for- 
mer May 1st, and the latter July 2nd, two months and two days between the events. 
The respective fleets in Manila bay were as follows: 

AMERICAN FLEET. 

Men and 

Name, Class. Armament. Officers 

Olympia Protected Cruiser. . . Four 8-in., ten 5-in. , 24 R. F 466 

Baltimore Protected Cruiser. . . Four 8-in. , six 6-in. , 10 R. F 395 

Boston Par. Ptd. Cruiser. . . Two 8-in., six 6-in., 10 R. F 272 

Raleigh Protected Cruiser. . .One 6-in., ten H-in., 14 R. F 295 

Concord Gunboat Six 6-in., 9 R. F 150 

Petrel Gunboat Four 6-in., 7 R. F 100 

McCuUoch Revenue Cutter Four 4-in 130 



236 EVENTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMERICAX WAE. 

SPANISH FLEET. 

Men ane 
Name. Class. Armament. Officers 

*Reina Cristina Steel Cruiser Six 6.2-in., two 2.7., 13 R. F 370 

Castilla Wood Cruiser. .... . .Four 5.9, two 4.7, two 3.4, two 2.9, 12 R. F. .300 

Don Antonio de Ulloa, .Iron Cruiser Four 4.7, 5 R. F 173 

Don Juan de Austria. . . Iron Cruiser Four 4.7, two 2.7, 21 R. F 173 

Isla de Luzon Steel Ptd. Cruiser. .. Six 4.7, 8 R. F 164 

Isla de Cuba Steel Ptd. Cruiser. . . Six 4.7, 8 R. F 164 

Velasco Iron Cruiser Three 6-in., two 2. 7, two R. F 173 

Marques del Duero Gunboat One 6.2, two 4.7, 1 R. F 98 

General Lezo Gunboat One 3.5, 1 R. F , 97 

El Correo Gunboat Three 4.7, 4 R. F , 116 

Quiros Gunboat 4 R. F 60 

Villalobos „ Gunboat 4 R F 60 

Two torpedo boats and two transports. 

The American s^quadron was thus officered: 

Acting Rear x4dmiral George Dewey, Commander-in-Chief. 

Commander B. P. Lamberter, Chief-of-Staff. 

Lieutenant L. M. Brumby, Flag Lieutenant. 

Ensign H. H. Caldwell, Secretary. 

OLYMPIA (Flagship). 

Captain, Charles V. Gridley. 

Lieutenant-Commander, S. C. Paine. 

Lieutenants: C. G. Calkins, V. S. Nelson, G. S. Morgan, S. M. Strite. 

Ensigns: M. M. Taylor, F. B. Upham, W. P. Scott, A. G. Kavanagh, H. V. 
Butler. 

Medical Inspector, A. F. Price; Passed Assistant Surgeon, J. E. Page; Assistant 
Surgeon, C. H. Kindleberger; Pay Inspector, D. A. Smith; Chief Engineer, J. En- 
twistle; Assistant Engineer, S. H. DeLany; Assistant Engineer, J. F. Marshall, Jr.; 
Chaplain, J. B. Frazier; Captain of Marines, AY. P. Biddle; Gunner, L. J. G. Kuhl- 
wein; Carpenter, W. Macdonald; Acting Boatswain, E. J. Norcott. 

THE BOSTON. 

Captain, F. Wildes. 

Lieutenant-Commander, J. A. Norris. 

Lieutenants: J. Gibson, W. L. Howard. 

Ensigns: S. S. Robinson, L. H. Everhart, J. S. Doddridge. 

Surgeon, M. H. Crawford; Assistant Surgeon, K. S. Balkeman; Paymaster, J. R. 
Martin; Chief Engineer, G. B. Ransom; Assistant Engineer, L. J. James; First Lieu- 
tenant of Marines, R. McM. Dutton; Gunner, J. C. Evans; Carpenter, I. H. Hiltoit 



EVE^'TS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAX WAR. 237 

U. S. STEAMSHIP BALTIMORE. 

Captain, N. M. Dyer. 

Lieutenant-Commander, G. Blocklinger. 

Lieutenants: W. Braunersreuther, F. W. Kellogg, J. M. Ellicott, C. S. Stan- 
worth. 

Ensigns: G. H. Hay ward, M. J. McCormack, V. E. Irwin. 

Xaval Cadets, D. W. Wurtsbaugh, I. Z. Wettersoll, C. M. Tozer T. A. Karney; 
Passed Assistant Surgeon, F. A. Heiseler; Assistant Surgeon, R. K. Smith; Pay 
Inspector, E. Bellows; Chief Engineer, A. C. Engard; Assistant Engineers, H. B. 
Price, H. I. Cone; Naval Cadet (engineer), C. P. Burt; Chaplain. T. S. K. Free- 
man; First Lieutenant of Marines, D. Williams; Acting Boatswain, PL R. Bray ton; 
Gunner, L. J. Connelly; Acting Gunner, L. J. Waller; Carpenter, 0. Bath. 

U. S. STEAMSHIP RALEIGH. 

Captain, J. B. Coghlan. 

Lieutenant-Commander, F. Singer. 

Lieutenants: W. Winder, B. Tappan, H. Rodman, C. B. Morgan. 

Ensigns: F. L. Chidwick, P. Babin. 

Surgeon, E. H. Marsteller; Assistant Surgeon, D. N. Carpenter; Passed Assistant 
Paymaster, S. R. Heap; Chief Engineer, F. H. Bailey; Passed Assistant Engineer, 
A. S. Halstead; Assistant Engineer, J. R. Brady; First Lieutenant of Marines, T. C. 
Treadwell; Acting Gunner, G. D, Johnstone; Acting Carpenter, T. E. Kiley. 

THE CONCORD. 

Commander, A. S. Walker. 

Lieutenant-Commander, G. P. Colvocoreses. 

Lieutenants: T. B. Howard, P. W. Hourigan. 

Ensigns: L. A. Kiser, W. C. Davidson, 0. S. Knepper. 

Passed Assistant Surgeon, R. G. Broderick; Passed Assistant Paymaster, E. D. 
Ryan; Chief Engineer, Richard Inch; Passed Assistant Engineer, H. W. Jones; As- 
sistant Engineer, E. H. Dunn. 

THE PETREL. 
Commander, E. P. Wood. 

Lieutenants: E. M. Hughes, B. A. Fiske, A. N. Wood, C. P. Plunkett. 

Ensigns: G. L. Fermier, W. S. Montgomery. 

Passed Assistant Surgeon, C. D. Brownell; Assistant Paymaster, G. G. SiebeU*; 

Passed Assistant Engineer, R. T. Hall. 



238 EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAE. 

The marvel of the naval engagements that disarmed Spain in both the Indies, is 
that only one American was killed in the Santiago action, and the only man who 
lost his life on Dewey's fleet was overcome by heat. The Spaniards were deceived 
as well as surprised at Manila, the deception being their dependence npon the belief 
that the Americans would take it for granted that the falsified official charts were cor- 
rect, and stand off. The course of the American fleet, finding with the lead on the 
first round 32 feet of water where the chart said 15, dismayed the enemy. The 
Spanish had but one chance to cripple Dewey, and that was by closing with him, 
but they never seem, except in the case of the flagship, to have contemplated taking 
the offensive. 

In the course of the war crowded with victory, two Spanish fleets were destroyed, 
two Spanish armies surrendered, thirty-six thousand soldiers and sailors of Spain 
made prisoners of war, the only heavy losses of Americans were at Santiago, and 
they happened because in the terrible climate of Cuba in summer, for those unaccus- 
tomed to it and forced to be in the rain and sleep on the ground, it was necessary to 
carry the enemy's lines of defense by assault, because it was certain that delay would 
be destruction of the troops. The campaign was hurried and short, but such was the 
effect of the few weeks spent in Cuba that, bloody as were the first days of July, the 
weeks succeeding witnessed the death from sickness of more soldiers than fell in 
battle. 

Not until November 5, 1898, did the State Department make public the complete 
text of the Protocol between the United States and Spain for the preliminary set- 
tlement of the war. A copy was cabled to this country from the French translation, 
but the department here never gave out the text of the document in official form. 
The Protocol textually is as follows: 

"Protocol of agreement between the United States and Spain, embodying the 
terms of a basis for the establishment of peace between the two countries, signed at 
Washington Aug. 12, 1898. Protocol: William R. Day, * Secretary of State of the 
United States, and his Excellency, Jules Cambon, Ambassador Extraordinary and 
Plenipotentiary of the Republic of France at Washington, respectively possessing 
for this purpose full authority from the government of the United States and the 
government of Spain, have concluded and signed the following articles, embodying 
the terms on which the two governments have agreed in respect to the matters here- 
inafter set forth, having in view the establishment of peace between the two countries 
■ — that is to sav: 



EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMEEICAN WAE. 239 

AETICLE I. 

^^Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. 

AETICLE II. 

"Spain will cede to the United States the Island of Porto Eico and other islands 
now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and also an island in the Ladrones, 
to be selected by the United States. 

AETICLE III. 

"The United States will occupy and hold the City, Bay, and Harbor of Manila, 
pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which shall determine the control, dispo- 
sition, and government of the Philippines. 

AETICLE IV. 

"Spain will immediately evacuate Cuba, Porto Eico, and other islands now 
under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and to this end each government 
will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, appoint commissioners, and 
the commissioners so appointed shall, within thirty days after the signing of tins 
protocol, meet at Havana for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details 
of the aforesaid evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands; and each 
government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, also appoint 
other commissioners, who shall, within thirty days after the signing of this protocol, 
meet at San Juan, Porto Eico, for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the 
details of the aforesaid evacuation of Porto Eico and other islands now under 
Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, 

AETICLE V. 

"The United States and Spain will each appoint not more than five commission- 
ers to treat of peace, and the commissioners so appointed shall meet at Paris not 
later than Oct. 1, 1898, and proceed to the negotiation and conclusion of a treaty 
of peace, which treaty shall be subject to ratification according to the respective 
constitutional forms of the two countries. 



UO EVENTS OF THE SPAXISH-AMEEICAN WAR. 

ARTICLE YI. 

"Upon the conclusion and signing of this protocol hostilities between the two 
countries shall be suspended, and notice to that effect shall be given as soon as 
possible by each government to the commanders of its military and naval forces. 

^'Done at Washington in duplicate, in English and in French, by the undersigned, 
who have hereunto set their hands and seals, the 12th day of August, 1898. 

^''WILLIAM R. DAYc 
'^JULES CAMBOK." 



CHAPTER XVI. 
THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

The Lessons of "War in the Joy Over Peace in the Celebrations at Chicago and 
Philacleli^hia — Orations by Archbishop Ireland and Judge Emory Speer — 
The President's Few Words of Thrilling Significance — The Parade of the 
Loyal League^ and Clover Club Banquet at Philadelphia — Address by the 
President — The Hero Hobson Makes a Speech — Fighting Bob Evans' Start- 
ling Battle Picture — The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet — The Proclama- 
tion of Thanksgiving. 

The lessons of war — that which has been through it accomplished for the country 
— the new lands over which our sovereignty is established — the gain in the national 
character — the increased immensity of the outlook of destiny, found impressive 
expression in the peace jubilee, the President of the United States participating, 
and interpreting history with dignity, in great Chicago, the giant of the AYest and 
Xorth, and Philadelphia, the holy city of Independence Hall and the liberty bell. 

Of the celebrations of Peace with honor and victory, the first was that at Chi- 
cago, and it will be memorable for remarkable speeches in which many orators rose 
to the height of the occasion, their speeches worthy of celebrity and certain to give 
imperishable passages to the school books of the future. We have to pass over 
much of meritorious distinction, and confine ourselves in the selections for these 
pages, to the utterances of the President — Archbishop Ireland, whose golden periods 
of Americanism ring through the land, and the Southern orator. Judge Emory Speer, 
of Georgia, whose patriotism springs forth and eleVates the nobility of his thought, 
and touches with sacred fire the ruddy glow of his eloquence. 

^'Lead, my country, in peace!" was Archbishop Ireland's passionate exclamation, 
the key-note of his oration. He said: 

^"War has passed; peace reigns. Stilled over land and sea is the clang of arms; 
Ironi San Juan to Manila, fearless and triumphant, floats the star spangled banner. 
America, 'Be glad and rejoice, for the Lord hath done great things.' America, 
with whole heart and soul, celebrate thy jubilee of peace. 

^'Welcome to America, sweet, beloved peace; welcome to x^merica, honored, 
glorious victory. Oh, peace, thou art heaven's gift to men. When the Savior of hu- 
manity was born in Bethlehem the sky sang forth, ^Glory to God in the highest, 
and on earth peace and good will to men.' Peace was offered to the world through 

2U 



242 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

Christ, and when the spirit of Christ is supreme, there is universal peace — peace 
among men, peace among nations. 

^'Oh, peace, so precious art thou to humanity that our highest ideal of social 
felicity must ever be thy sovereignty upon earth. Pagan statesmanship, speaking 
through pagan poetry, exclaims: ^The best of things which it is given to know 
IS peace; better than a thousand triumphs is the simple gift of peace.' The regen- 
erated world shall not lift up sword against sword; neither shall they be exercised 
any more in war. 

^Teace is the normal flow of humanity's life, the healthy pulsation of humanity's 
social organism, the vital condition of humanity's growth and happiness. 

" '^O first of human blessings and supreme, 
Fair Peace! how lovely, how delightful thou. 

^ :J: ^ ^ ^ 

Oh peace! thou soul 'and source of social life, 
Beneath whose calm inspiring influence 
Science his views enlarges, art refines, 
And swelling commerce opens all her ports. 
Blessed be the man divine who gave us thee.' 

"The praise of peace is proclaimed beyond need of other words, when men con- 
fess that the only possible Justification of war is the establishment of peace. Peace, 

we prize thee. 

" 'But the better thou, 
The richer of delight, sometime the more 



, 7 



Inevitable wax 

" Tasis imponero mprem' — to enforce the law of peace: this, the sole moral 
argument which God and humanity allow for war. peace, welcome ag^in to 
America. 

"War — how dreadful thou art! I shall not, indeed, declare thee to be immorai, 
ever unnecessary, ever accursed. N'o; I shall not so arraign thee as to mete plenary 
condemnation to the whole past history of nations, to the whole past history of 
my own America. But that thou art ever dreadful, ever barbarous, I shall not deny. 
War! Is it by cunning design — in order to hide from men thy true nature — that 
pomp and circumstance attend thy march; that poetry and music set in brightest 
colors, the rays of light struggling through thy heavy darkness, that history weaves 
into threads of richest glory the woes and virtues of thy victims? Stripped of thy 
show and tinsel, what art thou but the slaying of men? — the slaying of men by the 
thousands, aye, often by the tens, by the hundreds of thousands. 

"With the steady aim and relentless energy tasking science to its utmost ingenu- 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 243 

ity, the multitudes of men to their utmost endurance^ whole nations work day and 
nighty fitting ourselves for the quick and extensive killing of men. This preparation 
for war. Armies meet on the field of battle; shot and shell rend the air; men fall to 
the ground like leaves in autumnal storms^ bleeding, agonizing, dying; the earth is 
reddened by human blood; the more gory the earth beneath the tread of one army 
the louder the revel of victory in the ranks of the other. This, the actual conflict 
of war. From north to south, from east to west, through both countries vrhose 
flags were raised over the field of battle, homes not to be numbered mourned in soul-- 
wrecking grief, for husband, father, son or brother wdio sank beneath the foeman's 
steel or yielded life within the fever tent, or who, surviving shot and malad}', carries 
back to his loved ones a maimed or weakened body. This, the result of war. 

"Eeduced to the smallest sacrifice of human life the carnage of the battlefields, 
some one has died and some one is bereft. ^Only one killed,' the headline reads. 
The glad news speeds. The newsboys cry: ^Killed only one.' ^He was my son. 
What were a thousand to this one — my only son.' 

*^'It was Wellington who said: ^Take my word for it, if you had seen but one 
day of war you would pray to Almighty God that you might never see such a thing 
again.' It was Napoleon who said: 'The sight of a battlefield after the fight is 
enough to inspire princes with a love of peace and a horror of war.' 

"War, be thou gone from, my soul's sight! I thank the good God that thy 
ghastly specter stands no longer upon the thresholds of the homes of my fellov.^ 
countr3-men in America, or my fello^v beings in distant Andalusia. When, I ask 
heaven, shall humanity rise to such heights of reason and of religion that war shall 
be impossible, and stories of battlefields but the saddening echoes of primitive ages 
of the race? 

"And yet, while we await that blessed daj^ when embodied justice shall sit in 
judgment between peoples as between individuals, from time to time conditions more 
repellant than war may confront a nation, and to remove such conditions as the 
solemn dictates of reason and religion impose was as righteous and obligatory. Let 
the life of a nation or the integrity of its territory be menaced, let the honor of a 
nation be assailed, let the grievous crime against humanity be perpetrated witliin 
reach of a nation's flag or a nation's arm, reiterated appeals or argument and diplo- 
macy failing, what else remains to a nation which is not so base as to court death or 
dishonor but to challenge the fortunes of war and give battle while strength remains 
in defense of 'its hearthstones and its altars'? War, indeed, is dreadful; but let it 
come; the sky may fall, but let jiu^ire be dene. War is no longer a repudiation of 



244 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

peace, but the means to peace — to the soul peace a self-sacrificing people ma}- enjoy 
■ — peace with honor. 

•'A just and necessary war is holy. The men who at country's call engage in 
such a war are the country's heroes, to whom must be given unstinted gratitude and 
unstinted praise. The sword in their hands is the emblem of self-sacrifice and of 
valor; the flag which bears them betokens their country and bids them pour out 
in oblation to purest patriotism the life blood of their hearts; the shroud which 
spreads over the dead of the battlefield is the mantle of fame and of glory. 

''Happy the nation which has the courage of a just war, no less than that of 
a just peace, whose sons are able and willing to serve her with honor alike in war 
and in peace, Happy the nation whose jubilee of peace, vdien war has ceased, is also 
a jubilee of victory. 

" ^We love peace, not war, but when we go to war we send it the best and bravest 
of the country.' These words, spoken a few da3's ago by the chief magistrate of 
America, embody a great principle of American life. 

Six months ago the congress of the United States declared that in the name of 
humanity war should be waged in order to give to the island of Cuba a stable and 
independent government. Magnificent patriotism of America. The people of the 
United States at once rose in their might. They argued not, they hesitated not. 
America had spoken; theirs was not to judge but to obey. In a moment the money 
of America, the lives of America, were at the disposal of the chief magistrate of the 
nation, whose embarrassment was the too generous response to his appeal for means 
to bring victory to the nation's flag. America had spoken. Partisan politics,- sectional 
disputes instantly were stilled beneath the majesty of her voice. Oft it had been 
whispered that we had a ^N'orth and a South. When xlmerica spoke we knew that we 
were but one people; that all were Americans. It had been whispered that social 
and economic fines were hopelessly dividing the American people, and that patriotism 
was retreating before the growth of class interests and class prejudices. 

"But when America spoke there was no one in the land who was not an Ameri- 
can; the laborer dropped his hammer; the farmer turned from his plow; the mer- 
chant forgot his counting-room; the millionaire closed the door of his mansion; and 
side by side, equal in love of country; their resolve to serve her, they marched to 
danger and to death. America can never doubt the united loyalty of her whole 
population, nor the power which such united loyalty puts into her hand. 

"And what may I not say in eulogy of the sentiment of humanity, that in union 
with their natriob'^m swayed the hearts of the American people, and in their vision 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 245 

invested tlie war with tlic halo of highest and most sacred duty to fellow-men? 
I speak of the great multitude, whom we name the American people. They had been 
told of dire suffering by neighboring people — struggling for peace and liberty; they 
believed that only through war could they acquit themselves of the sacred duty of 
rescuing that people from their sufferings. I state a broad;, undeniable fact. The 
dominating, impelling motive of the war in the depths of the national heart of Amer- 
ica was the sentiment of humanity. The people of America offered their lives 
through no sordid ambition of pecuniary gain, of conquest of territory, of national 
aggrandizement. Theirs was the liigh-born ambition to succor fellowmen. 

"What strength and power America was found to possess. When war was de- 
clared, so small was her army, so small her navy that the thought of war coming' 
upon the country affrighted for the moment her own citizens and excited the de- 
risive smiles of foreigners. Of her latent resources no doubt was possible; but how 
much time was needed to utihze them, and, meanwhile, how much humiliation was 
possible. The President waved his wand; instantly armies and navies were created 
as by magic. AYithin a few weeks a quarter of a million of men were formed into 
regiments and army corps; vessels of war and transport ships were covering the 
seas; upon water and land battles were fought and great victories won, from one 
side of the globe to the other. I know not of similar feats in history. What if in this 
bewildering rush of a nation to arms one department^ or another of the national 
administration was unable to put in a moment its hand upon all the details wliich a 
thoroughly rounded equipment required? The wonder is that the things that were 
done could at all have been done, and that what was done so quickly could have 
been done so well. The wonder is that this sudden creation of such vast miHtary 
forces was possible, even in x4merica 

' "What prowess in action, what intellect in planning, what sldll in. execution, were 
displayed by soldiers and seamen, by men and officers. Magnificent the sweejD of 
Dewey's squadron in Manila harbor. Magnificent the broadsides from Sampson's 
fleet upon Cervera's fleeing ships. Magnificent the charge of regiments of regular 
infantry, and of Eoosevelt's riders up the hills of El Caney. Xever daunted, never 
calculating defeat, every man determined to die or conquer, every man knowing his 
duty, liow to do it — the soldiers and seamen of America were invincible. Spanish 
fleets and Spanish armies vanished before them as mists before the morning sun; 
the nations of the earth stood amazed in the presence of such quick and decisive 
triumphs, at what America had done and at what, they now understood, Amencj? 
could do. 



246 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

"The war is ended. It would ill become me to say what details shall .'.nter into 
the treaty of peace which America is concluding with her vanquished foe. I stand 
m the presence of the chief magistrate of the republic. To him it belongs by right 
of official position and of personal wisdom to prescribe those details. The country 
has learned from the acts of his administration that to his patriotism, his courage, 
his prudence, she may well confide her safety, her honor, her destiny, her peace. 
Whatever the treaty of Sapin, America will be pleased when appended to this treaty 
is the name of William McKinley. 

"What I may speak of on this occasion is the results of the war, manifest even 
in this hour to America and to the world, transcending and independent of all treaties 
of peace, possessing for America and the world a meaning far mightier than mere ac- 
cumulation of material wealth or commercial concessions or territorial extension. 

"To do great things, to meet fitly great responsibilities, a nation, like a person, 
must be conscious of its dignity and its power. The consciousness of what she is 
and what she may be has come to America. She knows that she is a great nation. 
The elements of greatness were not imparted by the war; but they were revealed to 
her by the war, and their vitalit}^ and their significance were increased through 
the war. 

"To take its proper place among the older nations of the earth a nation must 
be known as she is to those nations. The world to-day as ne'er before knows and 
confesses the greatness and the power of America. The world to-day admires and 
respects America. The young giant of the West, heretofore neglected and almost 
despised in his remoteness and isolation, has begun to move as becomes his stature, 
the v,^orld sees what he is and pictures what he may be. 

"All this does not happen by chance or accident. An all-ruling Providence 
directs the movements of humanity. What we witness is a momentous dispensation 
from the master of men. 'Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo — with the 
revolution of centuries there is born to the world a new order of things,' sang the 
Mantuan poet at the birth of the Augustan age. So to-day we proclaim a nev/ order 
of things has appeared. 

"America is too great to be isolated from the world around her and beyond her. 
She is a world power, to whom no world interest is alien, whose voice reaches 
afar, whose spirit travels across seas and mountain ranges to most distant continents 
and islands — and with America goes far and wide what America in the grandest 
ideal represents — democracy and liberty, a government of the people, by the people, 
for the people. This is Americanism more than American territory, or American 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. ' 247 

shipping, or American soldiery. Where this grandest ideal of American life is not 
held .supreme America has not reached, where this ideal is supreme America reigns. 
The vital significance of America's triumphs is not understood unless by those 
triumphs is understood the triumph of democracy and of liberty. 

"If it was ever allowed to nations to rejoice over the result of their wars, America 
niay rejoice to-day. Shall we then chant the praises of war and change this jubilee 
of peace into a jubilee of war? Heaven forbid! 

" 'We love peace, not war.' The greatness of America makes it imperative upon 
her to profess peace— peace to-day, peace to-morrow. Her mission as a world power 
demands that she be a messenger, an advocate of peace before the world. Fain would 
we make her jubilee of peace a jubilee of peace for all nations. At least the message 
from it to the world shall be a message of peace. 

'•That at times wonderful things come through war, we must admit; but that 
they come through war and not through the methods of peaceful justice, we must 
ever regret. When they do come through war, their beauty and grandeur are dimmed 
by the memory of the sufferings and carnage which were their price. 

"We say in defense of war that its purpose is justice; but is it worthy of Christian 
civihzation that there is no other way to justice than war, that nations are forced 
to stoop to the methods of the animal and savage? Time was when individuals gave 
battle to one another in the name of justice; it was the time of social barbarism. 
Tribunals have since taken to themselves the administration of justice, and how 
much better it is for the happiness and progress of mankind. 

"It is force, or chance, that decides the issue of the battle. Justice herself is net 
heard; the decision of justice is what it was before the battle, the judgment of one 
party. Must we not hope that with the widening influence of reason and of religion 
among men, the day is approaching when justice shall be enthroned upon a great 
international tribunal, before which nations shall bow, demanding from it judgment 
and peace? Say what we will, our civilization is a vain boast. 

" 'Till the war drum throbs no longer, and the battle flags are furled 
In the parliament of man, the federation of the world. 
There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, 
And the kindly earth shall slumber, wrapt in universal law.' 

"It is America's great soldier who said: 

" 'Though I have been trained as a soldier, and have participated m many bat- 
tles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could v.ot have been 
found of preventing the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when '^ 



248 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

court, recognized by all nations, will settle international differences, instead of keep- 
ing large standing armies, as they do in Europe/ Shall we not allow the words of 
General Grant to go forth as the message of America? 

"Some weeks ago the Czar of Eussia said: 'The maintenance of general peace 
and possible reduction of the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations 
present themselves in the existing condition of the whole world as an ideal towards 
which the endeavors of all governments should be directed,^ and in accordance with 
those views he invited all nations to send representatives to an international peace 
congress, in which the question of reducing the armaments of the several countries 
of the world and otherwise preparing some plan for the prevention of wars might be 
discussed. 

"Shall not America send to St. Petersburg a message of good will, a promise of 
earnest co-operation? America, great and powerful, can afford to speak of peace. 
Words of peace from her will be the more gracious and timely, as they who do 
not knovv^ her say that, maddened by her recent triumphs, she is now committed 
beyond return to a policy of militarism and of conquest. 

"Lead, my country, in peace — in peace for thyself, in peace for the world. When 
war is necessary, lead, we pray thee, in war; but when peace is possible, lead, we pray 
thee yet more, lead in peace; lead in all that makes for peace, that prepares the 
world for pecae. 

"America, the eyes of the world are upon thee. Thou livest for the world. The 
new era is shedding its light upon thee, and through thee upon the whole world. 
Thy greatness and thy power daze me; even more, thy responsibilities to God and 
to humanity daze me — I would say affright me. America, thou failing, democracy 
and liberty fail throughout the world. 

"And now know, in the day of thy triumphs and victories, what guards democ- 
racy and liberty, what is thy true grandeur. Not in commerce and industry, not in 
ships and in armies, are the safety and the grandeur of nations, and, more especially, 
of republics. Intelligence and virtue build up nations and save them; without in- 
telhgence and virtue, material wealth and victorious armies bring corruption to 
nations and precipitate the ruin of liberty. 

"And now, America, the country of our pride, our love, our hope, we remit thee 
for to-day and for to-morrow into the hands of the Almighty God, under whose pro- 
tecting hand thou canst not fail, whose commandments are the supreme rules of 
truth and righteousness." 

The Archbishop was followed by Judge Speer, of Georgia: 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 249 

'•ivlr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: Spain had long been our near and 
dangerous neighbor. Its jDeople have a degree of reverence almost superstitior.? 
for monarch}^ and regard republican institutions with great disfavor. It has been 
said of Spain that some incurable vice in her organization, or it may be in the tem- 
per of her people, neutralizes all of the advantages she ought to derive from her 
stiudy hardihood, her nearly perfect capacity for endurance and the somber genius 
alike for war, for art and for literature, which has so often marked her sons. While 
this seems to be true, the Spaniard is not only a formidable antagonist, but there h 
a wealth of interest and charm in his rich, romantic history which commands the 
admiration of a generous foeman. This must be accorded, whether we contemplate 
that ancient people as they alternately resist the aggressions of Carthage and of 
Iiome, the fierce cavalry of Hamilcar, the legions of Scipio, of Pompey and of Caesar, 
'or in more recent times the achievements of their renowned infantry which broke t j 
fragments the best armies of Europe, or the infuriated people in arms against the 
hitherto unconquered veterans of Napoleon, or but now as with patient and dogged 
courage, with flaming volleys, they vainly strive to hold the works of Caney and 
San Juan against the irresistible and rushing valor of the American soldier. In art 
the Spaniard has been not less famous. In the royal collection of Madrid, in the 
venerable cathedrals of Seville, in the Louvre, in the London National Gallery, the 
lover of the beautiful may be charmed by the warmth of color, the accuracy of tech- 
nique, the rounded outline and saintly salvation of Murillo. 

"Many a quaint moralist, many a stately poet, many a priestly chronicler at- 
tests the genius of Spanish literature, but if these had not been, Don Quixote and 
Sancho Panza had been its title to immortality. The admirable attributes of Span- 
ish character nowhere found warmer appreciation than with our own countrymen. 
What Prescott did for the statecraft, and stern martial renown of the Spaniards, 
Vrashington Irving, with melodious prose and gentle humor, surpassed in his kindly 
p-or'rayal of Spanish character in his charming romance. The Conquest of Granada. 
It i^ perhaps due to the drollery and Addisonian humor of that gifted American that 
we have never been able to estimate the Spaniard cjuite so seriously as he estimates 
himself, or, indeed, as his stern and uncompromising nature deserves. The truth 
is, Spanish policy has ever been insidiously and persistently inimical to the xVmeri- 
can people, and has culminated in deeds more atrocious than those which have ren- 
dered infamous the baleful memory of Pedro the Cruel. 

"We all know how in 1492 his holiness, Alexander VI., in order to prevent un- 
seemly collisions between Christian princes, published a bull by which he as- 



^50 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

signed to Spain all discoveries lying west of an imaginary line drawn 300 leagues to 
the westward of the Cape Yerde islands. All discoveries to the east were ccnficv^^d 
to Portugal. 

"All of South America save Brazil and the two Guineas, all Central America, 
Mexico, the entire territory west of the Mississippi, now embraced by the United 
States, beautiful Cuba, from whose eastern province of Santiago Ponce de Leon 
across the lucent waves of the tropical sea coveted the ambrosial forests and fertile 
meadows of Porto Pico, whence he was to sail to the floral empire of Florida. But 
this was not all of Spain's magnificent domain. Ear across the waters of the South 
Pacific was the now famous cluster of islands bearing the name of the Spanish king. 
And from their great cities, via Guam, and Hawaii ,and San Francisco, to Acapulco, 
sailed the famous Manila fleet, huge galleons, loaded to the gunwales with the 
silken and golden wealth of the orient. Where are her colonies now? The declara- 
tion of the senior senator from the noble state of Illinois has been fulfilled: No 
race outside of her own borders, even if Spanish by origin, has ever been able to 
endure her reign, and every race which has resisted her ultimately succeeded in 
withdrawing from her control. 

"In the meantime the Americans, as declared by the German philosopher, Lessing, 
were building in the new world the lodge of humanity. The determined malignity 
©f the Spaniard toward the adventurous men of our race w^ho were fringing the 
Atlantic coast with sparsely peopled and widely separated settlements was promptly 
disclosed. They had threatened to send an armed ship to remove the Virginia 
planters. They laid claim to Carolina, and they directed powerful armed expeditions 
against the young colony of Georgia. They were now to meet, not the helpless 
savages who had been their victims, but men of that same fighting strain who in this 
good year breasted the hail of death, swarmed up the heights and planted the colors 
on the intrenchments of Santiago. 

"That field where the Georgian and Spaniards on that momentous day in 1743 
met is yet called the Blood Marsh. The commander of our colonial forces was James 
Edward Oglethorpe. To his military genius and the heroism of his slender force is 
due the fact that the southern territory of the United States was not added to the 
dependencies of Spain. That illustrious Englishman should ever live in the memory 
and veneration of the American people. He did more to exclude the Spaniards from 
American soil than any other man of the English speaking race, save that successor of 
Washington, the president, who evinces his fervid love of country and graces the 
«JC';jlsion by his presence to-day. 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 25i 

''Defeated in their scheme of invasion, the Spaniards remained intensely inimi- 
cal to cur fathers. AVhat more striking demonstration of that superintending provi- 
dence, whicii administers justice, not only to individuals, but to nations, thaa the 
spectacle in this mighty cit}^, builded on the heritage of which Spain would have 
deprived this people of this gathering of Americans to mark the epoch when the- 
last Spanish soldier has been driven from the last foot of soil of that hemisphere 
discovered by Columbus. May we not justly exclaim with the psalmist of old: 
'Oh, clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.' 

"It is perhaps impossible for Americans of this day and time to conceive how vast 
was the control Spain might have exerted over the destinies of our republic. The 
independence of the United States had been recognized, the constitution had been 
adopted and the government organized, and yet for many years she claimed with- 
out dispute the peninsula of Flo/ida, thence a strip along the gulf extending to and 
including the city of i!^ew Orleans, and she held all of that territory west of the 
Mississippi extending from the Father of Waters to the Pacific ocean, and from the 
Gulf of Mexico northward to the undefined boundaries of the British possessions. 

"Even as it is to-da}", that empire mentioned in Bishop Berkely's prophetic 
stanza, 'Westward the course of empire takes its way,' which sprang into being with 
the first shot of the simple. God-fearing husbandmen on the green at Lexington ex- 
tends more than half way across the Pacific ocean, and the miner or the fisherman 
standing on the ultimate island of Alaska and gazing eastward across the icy water? 
may with the naked eye behold the dominions of the czar. Nor in this do we include 
those distant islands, where one May morning, ever to be famous in the annak 
of our race, the spicy breezes that blow o'er Manila bay were rent by the guns of the. 
noble Dewey as they proclaimed that the genius of liberty had come to rid of cruel- 
ty and avarice and crime that charming land 'where every prospect pleases and only 
man is vile.' 

"In this connection may it not be well for us and for some of our distinguished 
representatives now in Paris to consider if it can be ever possible for men with the 
American and Spanish ideas of government to live in proximity and in peace r 
Contrast the character of the average American citizen with that of the Spaniard. 
The native and distinctive modesty of the national character forbids me to pronounce 
an extravagant eulogium upon the American citizen, but behold him and see what 
he has done and can do. 

"While the human intellect has been making prodigious and unheard-of strides, 
while the world is ringing with the noise of intellectual achievements, Spain sleeps 



252 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

on untroubled, unlieecling, impassive, receiving no impression upon it. There she 
lies at the farther extremity of the continent, a huge and torpid mass, the sole rep- 
resentative now remaining of the feelings and knowledge of the middle ages. And, 
vs'liat is the worst s3'mptom of all, she is satisfied with her own condition. Though 
she is the most backward countr}^ in Europe she believes herself to be the foremost. 
She is proud of everything of which she ought to be ashamed. 

"Plow incompatible is the temperament of the American and the Spaniard. 

"May the worn and wasted followers of Gomez and Garcia come to appreciate the 
blessings of liberty under the law. 'No other wish is in consonance with the aims 
of the American people. AYe would not, if we could, be their masters. The gigantic 
power of the country has been put forth for their salvation and for their pacification. 
Connected with them by bonds of genuine sympathy and indissoluble interest, we 
will labor with them to secure for them established justice, domestic tranquility, gen- 
eral welfare and the blessings of liberty to themselves and to their posterity. For the 
common defense, in the blue ether above the beautiful island of Cuba is poised the 

eagle.' 

^Whose golden plume 
Floats moveless on the storm and in the blaze 
Of sunrise gleams when earth is wrapt in gloom.' 

"It was not enough, however, for the American people to recognize the in- 
dependence of the Spanish- American republics. It soon became our duty to notify 
the world that in certain eventualities it was our purpose to defend their national ex- 
istence. The holy alhance, as it was termed, had been formed. The great powers 
who signed the famous compact declared its purpose to maintain as Christian doc- 
trine the proposition that useful or necessary changes in legislation, or in the ad- 
ministration of states, can only emanate from the free will and well-weighed convic- 
tions of those whom God has rendered responsible for power. Whom had God 
made responsible for power? What is a well-weighed conviction? These are ques- 
tions about Avhich the irreverent Americans might perchance differ with royalty. 
We had been lead to believe, and yet beheve, that the voice of the people is the voice 
of God. When, therefore, the absolution of the holy alliance, not content with 
smothering a feeble spark of liberty in Spain, initiated a joint movement of their 
arms against the Spanish-American republics, it gave the people of our country 
the gravest concern. In the meantime our relations with Great Britain had grown 
cordial. That they may grow ever stronger and more cordial should be the prayer 
of every man of the English speaking race. An unspeakable blessing to mankind of 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 253 

the struggle from which we are now emerging is the genuine brotherly sympathy for 
the people of the United States flowing from that land. 

"And it is returned in no unstinted measure. But two months ago the flagship 
of Admiral Dewey steamed slowly into the battle hue at Manila. As she passed the 
British flagship Immortahte its band rang out the inspiring air ''See the Conquering 
Plero Comes/ and as the gorgeous ensign of the republic was flung to the breeze at 
the peak of the Olympia there now came thrilling o'er the waters from our kins- 
men's ship the martial strains of the ^Star Spangled Banner.' 

"Finally, when our gallant seamen^ reposing in fancied security in the scorching 
blast of the treacherous explosion were cruelly and remorselessly slain^ and calm in- 
Yestigation had developed the truth, we had been despicable on the historic page had 
we not appealed to the god of battle for retribution. The pious rage of seventy mil- 
lions of people cried aloud to heaven for the piteous agony, for the shameful slaugh- 
ter of our brethren. Our noble navy w^as swiftly speeding to its duty. Poetic genius 
bodied forth the spirit of our gallant seamen as the mighty ships sped on their way. 

"Let the waters of the orient as they moan through the shell-riven wrecks at 
Cavite, the booming waves of the Caribbean as fathoms deep it sweeps over Pluton 
and Furor and breaks into spray on the shapeless and fire-distorted steel of Vizcaj^a 
and Oquendo, tell how the navy has paid our debt to Spain. Nor is the renown 
which crowns the standards of our army one whit less glorious. Nothing in the lucid 
page of Thucydides nor in the terse commentaries of Caesar, nothing in the vivid 
narrative of Napier or the glowing battle scenes of Allison, can surpass the story how, 
spurning the chapparal and the barbed wire, pressing their rifles to their throbbing 
hearts, toiling up the heights, and all the while the machine guns and the Mausers 
mowing the jungle as if with a mighty reaper, on and yet right on, they won the 
fiery crests, and Santiago fell. Well may we exclaim with the royal poet of Israel: 

" ^Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things; his 
right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him. the victory.' 

"America! Humane in the hour of triumph, gentle to the vanquished, grateful 
to the Lord of Hosts, a reunited people forever: 

" ^Great people. As the sands shalt thou become; 
Thy growth is swift as morn, when night must fade 
The multitudinous earth shall sleep beneath thy shade.' " 

The band burst into the strains of "Dixie" in honor of the Southern birth of 
Judge Speer, as he concluded his oration. President McKinlej^ as on other occasions 
during the program, joined in the hearty applause. Cries of "McKinley," "'Mc- 



254 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

Kinley/' "The President," ''The President/' were heard all over the hall, and in a 
moment it was seen that the President was going to respond. Every one stood up. 
Ex-Governor Oglesby approached the front of the box, and said, "I have the honor 
to introduce the guest of the occasion, the President." 

"Leaning forward," vre quote the Tribune, "from his box in the earnestness 
of his utterance, speaking in the tones of emotion having birth in the fullness of 
heart. President William McKinley, at the Auditorium jubilee meeting yester- 
day morning gave to the people a message of simple thanks and significant augury. 
Save for a wave of applause at the mention of American charity, the terse, reverent 
address was heard in silence. An added hush fell upon the intent throng when the 
President began the portentous concluding paragraph, and when he ceased speak- 
ing and stood before them grave and masterful, the quiet was breathless, tense under 
the force of repression. Then the meaning of the words of the Executive coursed 
from heart to brain, and men's minds grasped the fact that they had heard the Presi- 
dent's lips declare that he had seen the direction of the flovr of the currents of des- 
tiny, that he recognized their majesty, and that his purpose was in harmony with the 
common will — the f-orce working for the retention of the conquered islands in the 
distant Pacific and for the policy of national growth. 

"The applause broke the louder for the preceding :-alm and the deeper for the 
inspiring motive. Hats were swung and handkerchiefs waved. Men climbed on 
chairs to lead the cheering and women forgot gloved hands and applauded with 
energy. At the last, ex-Governor Eichard J. Oglesby, who had a seat in the Presi- 
dent's box, led in three cheers." 

The message of the President w^as: 

"My Fellow Citizens: I have been deeply moved by this great demonstaration. 
I have been deeply touched by the words of patriotism that have been uttered 
by the distinguished men so eloquently in your presence. It is gratifying to all of us 
to know that this has never ceased to be a war of humanity. The last ship that 
went out of the harbor of Havana before war was declared vras an American ship 
that had taken to the suffering people of Cuba the supplies furnished by American 
charitV; and the first ship to sail into the harbor of Santiago was another American 
ship bearing food supplies to the suffering Cubans. 

"I am sure it is the universal prayer of American citizens that justice and liu- 
manity and civilization shall characterize the final settlement of peace as they have 
distinguished the progress of the war. 

"'My countrymen, the currents of destiny flow through the hearts of the people. 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 255 

Who ^dll check them? Who will divert them? Who will stop them? And the 
mcvements of men^ planned by the master of men^ will never be interrupted by the 
American people." 

The Philadelphia celebration was a scene of a demonstration of popular interest 
and patriotic feeling amazing in its multitudinous enthusiasm. The Loyal League 
w^as out in full force, the parade was a prodigy of display, and the Clover Club gave 
a brilliant dinner, and the cleverness of the President's speech carried the club by 
storm. He said: 

"I cannot forego making acknowledgment to this far-famed club for the per- 
mission it has granted me to meet with you here to-night. You do not seem hilf so 
bad at this stage as 3'ou have been pictured. No one can unfold the future of the 
Clover Club. (Laughter.) 

It has been so gratifying to me to participate with the people of the city of 
Philadelphia in this great patriotic celebration. It was a pageant the like of vrhich I 
do not believe has been seen since the close of the great Civil War, when the army 
of Grant, Sherman and Sheridan, and the navy of Dupont, Dahlgren and Porter 
gave the great review in the capital city of the nation. x\nd I know of no more fit- 
ting place to have a patriotic celebration than in this great cit}^, which witnessed the 
first consecration of liberty and of the Eepublic. As I stood on the great reviewing 
stand, witnessing the soldiers and sailors passing by, my heart was filled only with 
gratitude to the God of battles, who has so favored us, and gratitude to the brave 
soldiers and sailors who had won such signal victories on land and on sea, and had 
given a new meaning to American valor. 

"It has been especially gratifying to me to participate not only with the people 
of Philadelphia, but with the people of the great West, where I have recently visited, 
in doing honor to the American army and the American navy. Xo nobler soldiers or 
sailors ever assembled under any flag. You had with you to-day the leaders of Santi- 
ago, Porto Pico and Guantanamo. We unfortunately had none of the heroes of 
Manila with us. But I am sure that our hearts go out to them to-night and to the 
brave Dewey and Otis and Merritt, and all the other gallant men that are now sustain- 
ing the flag in the harbor city of Manila." 

(A voice, "How about Hobson?") 

"The American people are always ready for any emergency, and if the Merrimac 
is to be sunk there is an American officer to do it. He succeeded in doing what 
our foe has been unable to do, sink an American ship. (Applause.) 

"I ask you, gentlemen of the Clover Club, to unite with_me in toasting the 



256 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

Army and Xavy of the United States, without whose valor and sacrifice we could 
not celebrate the victory we have been celebrating to-day. Not only the men at the 
front, not only the men on the battleships and in the battle line, but the men at 
home with ambition to go to fight the battles of American civilization, should be 
the recipients of the gratitude of the American people." 

Hobson and his men were a great feature of the parade in tlie four-in-hand. 
Hobson, during this visit to Philadelphia was caught, surrounded and captured at 
his hotel and was forced to make a speech, of which there is this report: 

"The young ofiicer was plainly embarrassed. Ilis red face suggested it, his 
trembling voice told it. In a low tone and frequently pausing, as if from a loss of a 
word, he said: 

" ^Your reception has been so very kind that it seems almost as if I had lost the 
power to say anything.' 

"Someone called out: '^IvTever mind, you had nerve enough to go into Santiago 
Harbor,' and then the crowd gave three cheers for Hobson. 

"He began again. ^The incident you have referred to is one you unduly magnify. 
Believe me, it was really nothing more than a little bit of work, which came to my 
men and to me to do in the ordinary course of strategy in warfare. That was all it 
was, a little bit of work, and it is sheer exaggeration to say anything else.' 

" ^Can't agree with you! Can't agree with you!' was the shouted answer from the 
crowd." 

At the Clover Club Jubilee dinner. Captain "Fighting Bob" Evans gave a won- 
derfully interesting account of the destruction of Cervera's fleet, closing with a 
grim picture of war the celebration of peace. He had been speaking of the blockade 
of Cuba, and insistently called upon to tell about Santiago, said: 

"Of our little scrap, it was the prettiest mix-up that was ever seen. I want to 
say that no fleet ever met a braver enemy than we did at Santiago. Those Spaniards 
stood up and got Idlled in the best possible shape. Six hundred of them died in less 
than thirty minutes, so you can see that there was very little flinching on Cervera's 
ships. 

"During the fight there were two very interesting moments, the first when the 
four big cruisers of the enemy came outside of the harbor, firing away with me- 
chanical regularity and presenting a most magnificent spectacle. They were not hit- 
ting anything, but that made little difference at that time, they tried hard enough. 
As we closed in, there came a moment when the fleeing Spanish ships had an al- 
most perfect chance to use their rams on our vessels. I submit now that not a single 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 257 

one changed his course a single inch. They came out of that harbor and ran away, 
and that was all they attempted to do, fighting as they went. 

"The second point w^as when ^Dick' \Yainwright misread a signal. I know he 
won't admit that he did misread it; however, I'll tell you the incident. In the 
Gloucester Wainwright was just off the harbor mouth when the two Spanish tor- 
pedo boat destroyers were noticed making straight at him. The Indiana signaled 
^The enemy's torpedo boats are coming out.' Wainwright read it ^Close in and 
attack enemy's torpedo boats/ and you know the rest of the story. 

"There was a dramatic picture which I want to call your attention to. It was 
after the Yizcaya had run ashore, and I had to stop the Iowa, some 400 yards away. 
I saw the survivors on a sand bar, which was merely a narrow strip of about 200 
yards from shore, on either side of a small inlet. On one side a school of hungry 
sharks were making fierce rushes toward the men, and on the other, the Cubans 
w^ere shooting away, utterly regardless of the fact that they were fighting a helpless 
foe. Out in front w^e were not supposed to be very friendly. 

"Finally, I saw Captain Eulate, of the destroyed ship, coming toward my ves- 
sel in a small boat. Fow Eulate is what you call a black Spaniard, one of those 
fellows that would cry as though his heart w^ould break every few minutes vrheiD in 
trouble. He sat in the stern of a small boat that had belonged to his vessel. She 
was partly stove in and had about a foot of water, or I should say blood and water, in 
her bottom. 

"As I looked down in the gangway I think it was the most horrible sight that 
I ever witnessed. In the bottom of the boat lay two dead Spaniards, one with his 
head completely shot away. The Spanish Captain was wounded in three places, and 
each of the four men who rowed his boat was more or less cut up. We slung a chaii 
over the side and carefully hauled him on board. 

"As he came up to the starboard gangway the marine guard saluted and 1ig 
was received with all the honors of his rank. As he stepped toward me he burst into 
tears, threw his -hands up in the air, and then, with a gesture of utter despair, but 
with all the grace of the pretty gentleman, loosed his sword belt and pressing a fer- 
vent kiss on the hilt of the weapon he extended it toward me. Every man on that 
ship knew that that Spaniard was giving up something of value equal to his life. I 
am not very good-natured, but I could not take that sword." 

This met with loud cries of "You did right. Bob," and one lusty-lunged individual 
announced that there was not a man in the country that would take it. Captain 
Evans, who recognized the speaker, a friend from the rural districts, answered: "Oh, 



2:."8 THE PEACE JUBILEE. 

yon don't know what some of those up-country Pennsylvanians would do. It was a 
pretty good sword." 

Continuing, Captain Evans said: "I didn't know exactly what to do with the 
Spanish Captain to get him into our sick bay. As I was about to ask him of his 
wound he stepped toward the gangway and looked shoreward. About a quarter of 
a mile off lay the once magnificent vessel in which he had boasted he would tow 
the Brooklyn back to Spain. 

^'She vras burning fore and aft, terrific columns of flame shooting up around 
her, and suddenly, with a burst of tears, Captain Eulate kissed his hand and bade 
fond farewell to the burning hulk and said with imipassioned voise, ^Adios yisca3^a.' 
As he did this the very same instant there came a tremendous roar and the Yizcaj'a's 
magazine blew her superstructure hundreds of feet into the air. Had the incident 
occurred that way on the stage anybody would have said it was too well timed. 

"He turned back and we got him into the ship's hospital, where the surgeons 
placed him on his stomach to shave the hair around a small cut on the back of his 
head. I stood alongside of him, and rolling his eyes into the starboard corner he 
said to me, with a rather comical expression, ^I think I have heard of you before.* 
I told him I did not know how that could have been, and he asked: TOd you not 
command the Indiana?' ^Yes,' I said; then he said, shaking his head as well as 
circumstances would permit, ^Yes, I have heard of you. You are "Bob" Evans.' 

"I have often wondered just what he referred to. I have a notion that it would 
fit certain remarks regarding certain language that I was credited with having used 
in reference to an attack on Havana; language, by the w^ay, which I never used. 
As I said before, the battle before Santiago was the prettiest imaginable kind of effect. 
Why, two torpedo boat destroyers came out, and inside of ten minutes we had them 
sounding. One sounded in 200 fathoms of water and sunk to rest there. The other 
preferred a berth with her nose on the beach. 

"The Maria Teresa and Admiral Oquendo were on fire inside of five minutes after 
the fight had started. They made beautiful sweeps toward the shore, and were reg- 
ular Fourth of July processions as they swept in on the beach. We helped them 
along a bit by landing a few shells in the stern. It was a pretty fight, but it should 
never be forgotten that the Spaniards fought their ships as hard and with as much 
valor as any men in any ships ever fought." 

After the first cabinet meeting succeeding the peace jubilee, the President issued 
his annual Thanksgiving proclamation: 



THE PEACE JUBILEE. 259 

"BT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
A PROCLAMATION. 

^•'The apiDroaching November brings to mind the custom of our ancestcrs, hal- 
lowed by time and rooted in our most sacred traditions, of giving thanks to A?mighty 
God for all the blessings he has vouchsafed to us during the past year. 

'^Few years in our history have afforded such cause for thanksgiving as this. We 
have been blessed by abundant harvests, our trade and commerce have been won- 
derfully increased, our public credit has been improved and strengthened, all sec- 
tions of our common country have been brought together and knitted into closer 
bonds of national purpose and unity. 

^'The skies have been for a time darkened by the cloud of war; but as we were 
compelled to take up the sword in the cause of humanit}^, we are permitted to re- 
joice that the conflict jias been of brief duration and the losses we have had to 
mourn, though grievous and important, have been so few, considering the great re- 
sults accomphshed, as to inspire us with gratitude and praise to the Lord of Hosts. 
Wo may laud and magnify His holy name that the cessation of hostilities cam.e sj 
soon as to spare both sides the countless sorrows and disasters that attend protracted 
war. 

"I do, therefore, invite all my fellow citizens, as well those at home as those vrho 
may be at sea or sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe Thursd.iy, the 
twenty-fourth day of November, as a day of national thanksgiving, to come together 
in their several places of worship, for a service of praise and thanks to Almighty God 
for all the blessings of the year, for the mildness of seasons and the f ruitf ulness of the 
soil, for the continued prosperity of the people, for the devotion and valor of our 
countrymen, for the glory of our victory and the hope of a righteous peace, and to 
pray that the Divine guidance, which has brought us heretofore to safety and honor, 
may be graciously continued in the years to come. 

''In witness whereof, etc. 

(Signed) ^'WILLIAM M'KINLEY. 

"By the President: 

"JOHN HAY, Secretary of State." 



. CHAPTER XYII. 
EAELY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

The Abolishment of the 31st of December, 184^, in Manila— The Mystery oi the 
Meridian 180 Degrees West— AVhat Is East and West?— Gaining and Losing 
Days— The Tribes of Native Filipinos— They Had an Alphabet and Sono-s 
of Their Ovrn— The Massacre of Magellan— His Fate Like That of Captain 
Cook— Stories of Long" Ago Wars— An Account by a Devoted Spanish Writer 
of the Beneficent Rule of Spain in the Phihppines— Aguinaldo a Man Not of 
a Nation, But of a Tribe— Typhoons and Earthquakes— The Degeneracy of 
the Government of the Philippines After It Was Taken from Mexico — "New 
Spain" — The Perquisites of Captain-Generals— The Splendor of Manila a 
Century Ago. 

The 31st of December was abolished in Manila in 18M. Up to that time it had 
been retained as the discoverers fixed it by pure piety and patriotism. Pope Alex- 
ander. A^I had issued a bull on the 1th of May, 1493, dividing the vorld into two 
hemispheres, which was quite correct, though it did not correspond to the secular 
lines of more modern days. The gracious object of His Holiness was to keep the 
peace of, the world by dividing the lands taken from the heathen between the 
Spaniards and Portuguese. The East was to belong to Portugal. The hne was drawn 
to include Brazil. The west was the hunting ground for heathen of Spain. The 
claim of Spain for the Philippines was that they were west. That was the way 
Magellenas (Magellan), the Portuguese navigator sailed through the straits named 
for him, and westward found the alleged Oriental islands, in which we, the people of 
the United States, are now so much interested. When sailing into the sunset seas 
he picked up a da}', and never discovered his error for he did not get home, and 
the Captain who navigated his ship did not know he was out of time with the Eu- 
ropean world until he get as far around as the Cape Yerd Islands. An added day 
was held in Manila, as a kind of affirmation of clear title, or trade mark of true 
righteousness, on the part of Spain. It is one of the enduring puzzles in going 
around the world that a day is gained or lost, and it is not always a sure thing wheth- 
er there is a loss or gain. The perplexing problem is increased in its persistence if 
one sails westward over the 180 Meridian west from Greenwich, and goes beyond 
that line (which is not the one drawn by Alexander YI) — say to the Philippines, 
and turns back, as is done in the voyage from San Francisco to Manila, and vice 
versa. 



EAKLY lUSTOEY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 261 

In this case, the mystery of the meridian becomes something dreadful. One 
loses a dav going west and gains one coming east, and it is a difficulty for a clear 
mind not to become cloudy over the account of loss and gain — or perhaps we may 
say profit and loss, when the account is closed. ^'The historian of the Philippine 
P^xpedition" lost a Wednesday going out, jumping from Tuesday to Thursday, and 
found an extra Thursday on the return — celebrated his birthday on another day than 
that on which he was born, and had to correct the ship account of his board bill, by 
adding a day. The Captain's clerk had forgotten it because it was not in the 
Almanac. Ship time begins a day at noon (and ends another), so when we crossed 
the meridian 180 degrees west at 2 p. m. by the sun, and the day was Thursday 
and to-morrow was Thursday also, the forenoon was yesterday by the ship. There- 
fore, Thursday was yesterday, to-day and to-morrow on the same day. The forenoon 
was yesterday — from 12 to 2 p. m. was to-day — and from 2 p. m. to midnight was 
to-morrow! It is no wonder "the historian," whose birthday was September the 2nd,. 
found as he was on the west side of the meridian with the mystery that the folks at 
home in the states had celebrated it for him two days ago — one day he had lost. 
and the other they had gained. Jagor, the historian of the Philippines, before the 
days when Admiral Dewey grasped the reins of a thousand islands, and a thousand 
to spare, says in his "Philippine Islands," that "when the clock strikes 12 in Madrid^ 
it is 8 hours 18 minutes andlil seconds past 8 in the evening at Manila. The latter city 
lies 124 degrees 40 min. 15 sec. east of the former, 7 h. 54 min. 35 sec. from Paris. But 
it depends upon whether you measure time by moving with the sun or the other way. 
If westward the course of empire takes its way, Manila is a third of a day catching up 
with Madrid time. If we face the morning and go to meet it Manila is ahead. The 
absence of the right day for Sunday has long been gravely considered by the mis- 
sionaries who have gone to heathen lands beyond the mysterious meridian that 
spoils all the holidays. One might establish a bank on that line and play between 
days, but there is only one little speck of land on the 180 degree meridian from pole 
to pole. 

It may be very well worth considering whether the United States should not re- 
establish the 31st of December in Manila, and assert that we hold title to the Philip- 
pines not only by the victories of the fleet and armies of the United States, but 
by the favor of Alexander YI, whose bull the Spaniards disregarded after it had 
grown venerable with three centuries of usage. We. quote a Spanish historian who 
colors his chapters to make a favorable show for his country on this subject, as follows: 
"From the Spaniards haviri^ traveled Avestwards to the Philippines, there was an 



262 EARLY HISTOEY OF THE PHILIPPIXES. 

error of a day in their dates and almanacs. Tliis was corrected in 13 U, -vvlien, 
by order of the Captain-General and the Archbishop, the 31st of December, 1844, 
was suppressed, and the dates of Manila made to agree with those of the rest of 
the world. A similar correction was made at the same time at Macao, where the 
Portuguese who had traveled eastward had an error of a day in an opposite direc- 
tion.'' It will be noticed that the authority of the Archbishop was carefully obtained 
and quoted, but it was beyond his prerogative. 

The early history of the Philippines bears few traces of the traditions and ro- 
mances of the natives, but they were in possession of an alphabet when ''discovered," 
and were then, as now, fond of music, singing their own melodies. The Hawaiians 
were enabled to get their old stories into j)rint because they suddenly fell into 
the hands of masterful men who had a written language. The Icelanders were too 
literary for their own good, for they spoiled their history by writing it in poetry and 
mixing it with fiction, losing in that way the credit that belongs to them of being the 
true discoverers of America. The Filipinos were spared this shape of misfortune, 
not that they lacked imagination within a narrow range of vision, but they were 
wanting in expression, save in unwritten music. Their lyrical poetry was not ma- 
terialized. The study of the natives must be studied as geology is. Geology and 
native history have been neglected in the Tagala country. The rocks of the Phil- 
ippines have not been opened to be read like books. More is known of the botany of 
the islands than of the formation of the mountains and their foundations. The 
original inhabitants were Xigritos — a dwarfish race, very dark and tameless, still in 
existence, but driven to the parts of the country most inaccessible. They are of 
the class of dark savages, who smoke cigars holding the fiery ends between their 
teeth! The islands were invaded and extensively harassed by Malay tribes — the 
most numerous and active being the Tagala. Of this tribe is General Aguinaldo, and 
it is as a man with a tribe not a nation that he has become conspicuous. The other 
tribes of Malays will not sustain him if he should be wild enough to want to make 
war upon the United States. The Tagalas are cock fighters and live on the lowlands. 
They eat rice chiefly, but are fond of ducks and chickens, and they have an in- 
credibly acute sense of smell, not a bad taste in food, and do not hanker to get irunk. 

The Yisayas are also a tribe. The Igolatas are next to the Tagala in numbers 
and energy. They show traces of Chinese and Japanese blood. There are no Afri- 
cans in the Philippines, no sign of their blood. This may be attributed to Phillip^s 
prohibition of negro slavery. General Greene, of N"ew York, took with him to 
Manila a full-blooded black manservant, and he was a great curiosity to the Fill- 



EAELY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 2G3 

pinos. When the English conquered Manila in 1762 they had Sepoy regiments, and 
held the city eighteen months. A good deal of Sepoy blood is still in evidence. Tlie 
Chinese have been growing in importance in the Philippines. Their men marry tlie 
women of the islands and have large families, the boys of this class being wonder- 
fully thrifty. The children of Englishmen by the native women are often hand- 
some, and of strong organization. The females are especially comely. 

The early history of the islands consists of accounts of contests with frontier 
rebels, attacks by pirates, and reprisals by the Spaniards, great storms and destructive 
earthquakes. It is remarkable that Magellan was, like Captain Cook, a victim of 
savages, whose existence he made known to civilized people, falling in a sea-side 
contest. Magellan had converted a captive chief to Christianity and baptised him 
as King Charles. More than two thousand of his subjects were converted in a day, 
and the great navigator set forth to conquer islands for the dominion of the Christian 
King, who lived on the isle of Zebu. The Christian monarch was entertained anl 
received many presents, making return in bags of gold dust, fruit, oil and wine. 
His Queen was presented with a looking glass, and then she insisted upon baptism, 
and so great was the revival that Magellan set out to capture more people for the 
newly made Christian couple — invaded the island of Matau, and with forty-two men 
landed where the water was shallow, his allies remaining afloat by invitation of Ma- 
gellan, to see how the Spaniards disposed of enemies. The Spanish landed at night, 
and on the morning found a great multitude of savages opposed to them, and fought 
for life, but were overwhelmed by thousands of warriors. The Admiral was in white 
armor, and fighting desperateh'-, was at last wounded in his sword arm, and then in 
the face, and leg. He was deserted by his men, who sought to save themselves in 
the water, and killed many of his enemies, but his helmet and skull were cruslied at 
one blow by a frantic savage with a huge club. There w^ere thirty-two Spaniards 
killed, and one of the squadron of three ships was burned as there were not men 
enough to sail all the vessels. There is in Manila, in the walled city, where it is 
seen every day by thousands of American soldiers, a stately monument to the navi- 
gator who found the Philippines, and whose adventurous discoveries insured him im- 
mortahty. His first landing on the Philippines was March 12th, 1521, less tha-? 
thirty years after Columbus appeared in the West Indies, believing that he was in 
the midst of the ancient East Indies, and judging from the latitude in the neighbor- 
hood of the island empire of the Great Kahn.* 

*This account of Magellan is from Antonio de Marga's rare volume published in 
Mexico. 



264 EAELY HISTOEY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

'"After the death of Magellan, Duarte Barbosa took the command and he and 
tTrenty of his men were treacherously killed by the Christian King, with whom 
they had allied themselves, one Juan Serrano was left alive amongst the natives. 
Magellan's ^Victory' was the first ship that circumnavigated the globe. 

"Magellanes passed over to the service of the King of Castile, from causes which 
moved him thereto; and he set forth to the Emperor Charles V., our sovereign, 
that the Islands of Maluco fell within the demarcation of his crown of Castile, and 
that the conquest of them pertained to him conformably to the concession of Pope 
Alexander; he also offered to make an expedition and a voyage to them in the em- 
peror's name, laying his course through that part of the delimitation which belonged 
to Castile, and availing himself of a famous astrologer and cosmographer named 
Euyfarelo, whom he kept in his service. 

"The Emperor (from the importance of the business) confided this voyage and 
discovery of Magellanes, with the ships and jDrovisions which were requisite for it^ 
with which he set sail and discovered the straits to which he gave his name. Through 
these he passed to the South Sea, and navigated to the islands of Tendaya and Sebu, 
where he was killed by the natives of Matan, which is one of them. His ships went 
on to Maluco, where their crews had disputes and differences with the Portuguese 
who were in the island of Terrenate; and at last, not being able to maintain them- 
selves there, they left Maluco in a ship named the Victory, which had remained to 
the Castilians out of their fleet, and they took as Chief and Captain Juan Sebastian 
del Cano, who performed the voyage to Castile, by the way of India, where he ar- 
rived with very few of his men, and he gave an account to His Majesty of the dis- 
covery of the islands of the great archipelago, and of his voyage.'' 

The work of J)e Morga has value as a novelty, as it is more than a defense — a 
laudation of the Spanish rule in the Philippines in the sixteenth century. The 
title page is a fair nxomise of a remarkable performance, and it is here presented: 

THE 

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 

MOLUCCAS, SIAM, CAMBODIA, 

JAPAN AND CHINA, 

at the close of the Sixteenth Century 

By ANTONIO DE MORGA. 

Translated from the Spanish, with Notes and a Preface, and a 
Ijetter from Luis Yaez De Torres, Describing His Voy- 
age Through the Torres Straits, by the 

HON. HENRY E. J. STANLEY. 



EAELY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 2C5 

The original work of De Morga was printed in Mexico in 1609, and has become 
extremely rare; there is no copy of it in the Bibliotheque Imperiale of Paris. This 
translation is from a transcription made for the Hakluyt Society from the copy in 
the Grenville Library of the British Museum; the catalogue of which states that 
"this book, printed at Mexico, is for that reason probably unknown to Bibhographers, 
though a book of great rarity." 

The translator gives a new view to Americans of the part that Spaniards have 
played in the Philippines. He plunges deep into his subject, saying: 

" The great point in which Manila has been a success, is the fact that the orig- 
inal inhabitants have not disappeared before the Europeans, and that they have 
been civilized, and brought into a closer union with the dominant race than is to 
be found elsewhere in similar circumstances. The inhabitants of the Philippines 
previous to the Spanish settlement were not like the inhabitants of the great Indian 
peninsula, people with a civilization as old as that of their conquerors. Excepting 
that they possessed the art of writing, and an alphabet of their own, they do not 
appeal to have differed in any way from the Dayaks of Borneo as described by Mr. 
Boyle in his recent book of adventures amongst that people. Indeed, there is al- 
most a coincidence of verbal expressions in the descriptions he and De Morga give 
of the social customs, habits, and superstitions of the two peoples they are describ- 
ing; though many of these coincidences are such as are incidental to life in similar 
circumstances, they are enou^gh to lead one to suppose a community of origin of the 
inhabitants of Borneo and Luzon." Mr. Consul Farren, Manila, March 13th, 1845, 
wrote and is quoted in support of this view as follows: 

"The most efficient agents of public order throughout the islands are the local 
clergy, many of whom are also of the country. There are considerable parts of 
these possessions in which the original races, as at Ceylon, retain their independence, 
and are neither taxed nor interfered with; and throughout the islands the power oi 
the government is founded much more on moral than on physical influence. The 
laws are mild, and peculiarly favorable to the natives. The people are indolent, 
temperate and superstitious. The government is conciliatory and respectable in its 
character and appearance, and prudent, but decisive in the exercise of its powers 
over the people; and united with the clergy, who are shrewd, and tolerant, and 
sincere, and respectable in general conduct, studiously observant of their ecclesiasti- 
cal duties, and managing with great tact the native character." 

March 29, 1851, Mr. Consul Farren wrote: "Without any governing power 
whatever, the greatest moral influence in these possessions is that which the priests 



266 EAELY HISTOEY OF THE PHILIPPI^^ES. 

possess, and divide among the monastic orders of Angnstines, Recoletos, Dominicans 
and Franciscans (who are all Spaniards), and the assistant native clergy. A popula- 
tion exceeding 3,800,000 souls is ranged into 677 pueblos or parishes, without 
reckoning the unsubdued tribes. . In 577 of those pueblos there are churches, with 
convents or clerical residences attached, and about 500 of them are in the personal 
incumbency of those Spanish monks. The whole ecclesiastical subdivisions bein<.r 
embraced in the archbishopric of Manila and three bishoprics." 

"The PhiliiDpines were converted to Christianity and maintained in it by the 
monastic orders, energetically protected by them (and at no very past period) again^t 
the oppressions of the provincial authorities, and are still a check on them in the 
interests of the people. The clergy are receivers in their districts of the capitation 
tax paid by the natives, and impose it; they are the most economical agencv of the 
government." 

The Archbishop of Manila is substantially of this judgment. De Morga opens 
his address to the reader: 

"The monarchy of Kings of Spain has been aggrandized by the zeal and care 
with which they have defended within their own hereditary kingdoms, the Holy 
Catholic Faith, which the Eoman Church teaches, against whatsoever adversaries 
oppose it, or seek to obscure the truth by various errors, v\'hich faith they have 
disseminated throughout the world. Thus by the mercy of God they preserve their 
realms and subjects in the purity of the Christian religion, deserving thereby the 
glorious title and renown which they possess of Defenders of the Faith. Moreover, 
by the valor of their, indomitable hearts, and at the expense of their revenues 
and property, with Spanish fleets and men, they have furrowed the seas, and dis- 
covered and conquered vast kingdoms in the most remote and unknown parts of the 
world, leading their inhabitants to a knovrledge of the true God, and to the fold 
of the Christian' Church, in which they now live, governed in civil and political 
matters with peace and justice, under the shelter and protection of the royal arm 
and power which was wanting to them. This boast is true of Manila, and of Manila 
alone amongst all the colonies of Spain or the other European states. H the natives 
of Manila have been more fortunate than those of Cuba, Peru, Jamaica, and Mexico, 
it has been owing to the absence of gold, which in other places attracted adventurers 
so lawless that neither the Church nor Courts of justice could restrain them." 

It is against the orders named as worthy exalted praise that the insurgents are 
most inflamed, and whose expulsion from the islands is certain in case of Philippine 
jurisdiction. The truth appears to be that the Spanish Colonial system was slower 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 267 

in the Puast Indies than in the West Indies and Soutli America in producing the 
revolntionary rebellion that was its logical consequence, and the friars more and 
more became responsible for official oppression and gradually became odious. 

It was New Spain — Mexico — that ruled the Philippines, until Mexican inde- 
pendence restricted her sovereignty. When a Commander-in-Chief died in the Phil- 
ippines, it was sufficient to find amongst his papers a sealed dispatch, as Morga 
records, "From the high court of Mexico, which carried on the government when 
the fleet left Nevr Spain, naming (in case the Commander-in-Chief died) a successor 
to the governorship."' It was in virtue of such an appointment that Guido de La- 
bazarris, a royal officer, entered upon those duties, and was obeyed. He, with much 
prudence, valor, and tact, continued the conversion and pacification of the islands, 
and governed them, and Morga states that in his time there came the corsair Lima- 
lion from China, with seventy large ships and many men-at-arms, against Manila. 
He entered the city, and having killed the master of the camp Martin de Goiti, 
in his house, along with other Spaniards who were in it, he went against the fortress 
in which the Spaniards, who were few in number, had taken refuge, with the object 
of taking the country and making liimself master of it. The Span- 
iards, with the succor which Captain Joan de Salzado brought them 
from Vigan, of the men whom he had with him (for he had seen this corsair 
pass by the coast, and had followed him to Manila), defended themselves so valiantly, 
that after killing many of the people they forced him to re-embark, and to leave th? 
bay in flight, and take shelter in the river of Pangasinam, whither the Spaniards 
followed him. There they burned his fleet, and for many days surrounded this 
corsair on land, who in secret made some small boats with whicli he fled and put 
to sea, and abandoned the islands. 

The change of the name of the islands from Lazarus, which Magellan called 
them, to the Philippines and the capture of the native town of Manila and its con- 
version into a Spanish city is related by Morga in these words: 

"One of the ships which sailed from the port of Navidad in company with the 
fleet, under the command of Don Alonso de Arellano, carried as pilot one Lope 
Martin, a mulatto and a good sailor, although a restless man; when this ship came 
near the islands it left the fleet and went forward amongst the islands, and, having 
procured some provisions, without waiting for the chief of the expedition, turned 
back to New Spain by a northerly course; either from the little inclination which 
he had for maldng the voyage to the isles, or to gain the reward for having discovered 
the course for returning. He arrived speedily, and gave news of having seen the 



268 EAELY HISTOEY OF THE PHILIPPUvTES. 

islands^ and discovered the return voyage, and said a few things with respect to his 
coming, without any message from the chief, nor any advices as to what happened 
to him. Don Alonzo de Arellano was well received by the High Court of Justice, 
which governed at that time, and was taking into consideration the granting of a 
reward to him and to his pilot; and this would have been done, had not the flagship of 
the Commander-in-Chief arrived during this time, after performing the same voy- 
age, and bringing a true narrative of events, and of the actual condition of affairs, 
and of the settlement of Sebu; also giving an account of how Don Alonzo de Arellano 
with his ship, without receiving orders and without any necessity for it, had gone on 
before the fleet on entering among the isles, and had never appeared since. It was 
also stated that, besides these islands, which had peacefully submitted to His Majesty, 
there were many others, large and rich, well provided with inhabitants, victuals and 
gold, which they -hoped to reduce to subjection and peace w4th the assistance which 
was requested; and that the Commander-in-Chief had given to all these isles the name 
of Philippines, in memory of His Majesty. The succor was sent to him immediately, 
and has been continually sent every year conformably to the necessities which 
have presented themselves; so that the land was won and maintained. 

"The Commander-in-Chief having heard of other islands around Sebu with 
abundance of provisions, he sent thither a few Spaniards to bring some of the natives 
over in a friendly manner, and rice for the camp, with which he maintained himself 
as well as he could, until, having passed over to the island of Panay, he sent thence 
Martin de Goiti, his master of the camp, and other captains, with the men that 
seemed to him sufficient, to the side of Luzon, to endeavor to pacify it and bring it 
under submission to His Majesty; a native of that island, of importance, named 
Maomat was to guide them. 

"^^Having arrived at the Bay of Manila, they found its town on the sea beach close 
to a large river, in the possession of, and fortified by a chief whom they called 
Eajamora; and in front across the river, there was another large town named Tondo; 
this was also held by another chief, named Eajamatanda. These places were fortified 
with palms, and thick arigues filled in with earth, and a great quantity of bronze can- 
non, and other large pieces with chambers. Martin de Goiti having began to treat 
with the chiefs and their people of the peace and submission which he claimed for 
them, it became necessary for him to break with them; and the Spaniards entered 
the town by force of arms, and took it, with the forts and artiller}^, on the day of Sta. 
Potenciana, the 19th of May, the year 1571; upon which the natives and their chiefs 
gave in, and made submission, and many others of the same island of Luzon did the 
same. 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 269 

"When the Commander-in-Chief, Legazpi, received news in Panay of the taking 
of Manila, and the establishment of the Spaniards there he left the ajffairs of Sebu, 
^nd of the other islands which had been subdued, set in order; and he entrusted the 
nadves to the most trustworthy soldiers, and gave such orders as seemed fitting for 
the government of those provinces, which are commonly called the Visayas de los 
Pintados, because the natives there have their whole bodies marked with fire. He then 
came to Manila with the remainder of his people, and was very well received there; 
and established afresh with the natives and their chiefs the peace, friendship and 
submission to His Majesty which they had already offered. The Commander-in-Chief 
founded and established a town on ihe very site of Manila (of w^hich Rajamora made 
s. donation to the Spaniards for that purpose), on account of its being strong and in 
a well provisioned district, and in the midst of all the isles (leaving it its name of 
Manila, which it held from the natives). He took w^hat land was sufficient for the 
c-ity, in which the governor established his seat and residence; he fortified it with 
<?are, holding this object more especially in view, in order to make it the seat of 
government of this new settlement, rather than considering the temperature or width 
of the site, which is hot and narrow, fromx having the river on one side of the city, 
and the bay on the other, and at the back large swamps and marshes, which make 
it very strong. 

"From this post he j)ursued the work of pacification of the other provinces of 
this great island of Luzon and of the surrounding districts; some submitting them- 
selves willingly, others being conquered by force of arms, or by the industry of the 
monks who sowed the Holy Gospel, in which each and all labored valiantly, both 
in the time and governorship of the adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, and in 
that of other governors who succeeded him. The land was entrusted to those who 
had pacified it and settled in it, and heads named, on behalf of the crown, of the 
provinces, ports, towns, and cities, w^hich were founded, together with other special 
commissions for necessities which might arise, and for the expenses of the royal 
exchequer. The affairs of the government, and conversion of the natives, were 
treated as was fit and necessary. Ships were provided each year to make the voyage 
to New Sapin, and to return with the usual supphes; so that the condition of the 
Philippine Islands, in spiritual and temporal matters, flourishes at the present day, 
as all know. 

"The Commander-in-Chief, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, as has been said, discovered 
the islands, and made a settlement in them, and gave a good beginning to their 
fiubjection and pacification. He founded the city of the Most Holy iName of Jesus 



270 EAELY HISTOEY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

in tKe provinces of the Pintados, and after that the city of Manila in the island of 
Luzon. He conquered there the province of Ylocos; and in its town and port, 
called Yigan, he founded a Spanish town, to which he gave the name of Villa 
Fernandina. So also he pacified the province of Pangasinan and the island of 
Mindoro. He fixed the rate of tribute which the natives had to pay in all the 
islands, and ordered many other matters relating to their government and conversion, 
until he died, in the year of 1574, at Manila, where his body lies buried in the monas- 
tery of St. Augustine. 

'^'^During the government of this Guido de Labazarris, trade and commerce were 
established between great China and Manila, ships coming each year with mer- 
chandise, and the governor giving them a good reception; so that every year the 
trade has gone on increasing." 

The Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the Island Samai was called Filipina by 
Vellalohos, who sailed from Mexico in February, 1543. The capital was fixed at 
Manila in 1571, a distinction enjoyed three hundred and twenty-seven years. It was 
in a letter of Lagozpis in 1567 that the name Has Filipinos appeared for the first time. 

The Dutch became very enterprising and venturesome in the Asiatic archipel- 
agoes and gave the Philippines much attention, having many fights with the Span- 
iards. The Ladrones became well known as a resting place between the islands 
of Philip and New Spain — Mexico. The Chinese Pirates were troublesome, and the 
Spaniards, between the natives, the pirates and the Dutchmen, kept busy, and 
had a great deal of naval and military instruction. There were other varieties of life 
of an exciting character, in terrible storms and earthquakes. The storm season is 
the same in the Philippines as in the West Indies, and the tempests have like feat- 
ures. October is the cyclone and monsoon month. The most destructive storm in 
the island of Luzon of record was October 31st, 1876. Floods rolled from the mount- 
ains, and there was a general destruction of roads and bridges, and it is reported 
six thousand persons were killed. 

So extensive and exposed is the Bay of Manila, it is one hundred and twenty- 
knots in circumference — that it is not properly a harbor, but a stormy sheet of 
water. Admiral Dewey's fleet has had low steam in the boilers all the while to quickly 
apply the power of the engines for safety in case of a visitation from the dreaded 
typhoon, which comes on suddenly as a squall and rages with tornado intensity. 

There are many volcanoes in the islands, and they exist from the North of 
Luzon to the Sulus in the extreme South, a distance as great as from Scotland to 
Sicily. There is one on Luzon that bears a close resemblance both in appearance 



EAELY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 271 

and phenomena to Vesuvius. The likeness in eruptions is startling. The city of 
Manila has repeatedly suffered from destroying shocks, and slight agitations are 
frequent. Within historic times a mountain in Luzon collapsed, and a river was 
filled up while the earth played fountains of sand. The great volcano Taal, 45 miles 
south of Manila, is only 850 feet high, and on a small island in a lake believed to be 
a volcanic abyss, having an area of 100 square miles. Monte Cagua, 2,910 feet high, 
discharges smoke continually. In 1814 12,000 persons lost their lives on Luzon, 
the earth being disordered and rent in an appalling way. There were awful eruptions 
July 20 and October 24, 1867, forests of great trees buried in discharges of volcanoes. 
June 3, 1863, at 31 minutes after 7 in the evening, after a day of excessive heat, 
there was a shock at Manila lasting 30 seconds, in which 400 people were killed, 
2,000 wounded, and 26 public and 570 private houses seriously damaged. The 
greater structures made heaps of fragments. That these calamities have taught the 
people lessons in building is apparent in every house, but one wonders that they 
have not taken even greater precautions. The forgetfulness of earthquake experi- 
ences in countries where they are familiar, always amazes those unaccustomed to- 
the awful agitations and troubled with the anticipations of imagination. How- 
ever, there never has been in the Philippines structural changes of the earth as great 
as in the center of the United States in the huge fissures opened and remaining lakes 
in the New Madrid convulsions. 

In a surprising extent the Spanish government in the Philippines has been in the 
hands of the priests, especially the orders of the church. In the early centuries 
there was less cruel oppression than in Mexico and Peru. And yet there is in the 
old records a free-handed way of referring to killing people that shows a somewhat 
sanguinary state of society even including good citizens. 

Bias Ruys de Herman Gonzales wrote to Dr. Morga from one of his expeditions,, 
addressing his friend: 

"To Dr. Antonio de Morga, Lieutenant of the Governor of the Filipine isles of 
Luzon, in the city of Manila, whom may our Lord preserve. From Camboia.'^ This 
was in Cochin China, one of the Kings being in trouble, called upon Gonzales, who 
sympathized with him and wrote of the ceremony in which he assisted: "I came at 
his bidding, and he related to me how those people wished to kill him and deprive 
him of the kingdom, that I might give him a remedy. The Mambaray was the 
person who governed the kingdom, and as the king was a youth and yielded to 
wine, he made little account of him and thought to be king himself. At last I 
and the Spaniards killed him, and after that they caught his sons and killed them. 



272 EARLY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPIXES. 

After that the capture of the Mala}- Cancona was undert^iken, and he was killed, 
and there was security from this danger b}' means of the Spaniards. "We then re- 
turned to the war^ and I learned that another grandee, who was head of a province, 
wished to rise up, and go over to the side of Chupinanon; I seized him and killed 
him; putting him on his trial. With all this the King and kingdom loved us very 
much, and that province was pacified, and returned to the King. At this time 
a vessel arrived from Siam, which was going with an embassy to Manila, and put in 
here. There came in it Padre Fray Pedro Custodio. The King was much delighted 
at the arrival of the priest, and wished to set up a church for him." 

Unquestionably there was degeneracy that began to have mastery in high places, 
and this can be distinctly made out early in this century, becoming more obvious 
in depravity, when Spain fell into disorder during the later years of the I^^apoleonic 
disturbances, and the authority and influence of Mexico w^ere eliminated from Spain. 
I may offer the suggestion and allow it to vindicate its own importance, that if 
we have any Philippine Islands to spare, we should turn them over to the Republic 
of Mexico, taking in exchange Lower California and Sonora, and presenting those 
provinces to California to be incorporated in that State as counties. It was under 
Mexican rule that the Philippines were most peaceable and flourishing. 

The late Government of the islands as revealed to the American officers who came 
into possession of Manila, was fearfully corrupt. It was proven by documents and 
personal testimony not impeachable, that a Captain-General's launch had been used 
to smuggle Mexican dollars, that the annual military expedition to the southern 
islands was a stated speculation of the Captain-General amounting to $200,000, 
in one case raised to $400,000, that the same high official made an excursion to all 
the custom houses on the islands ordered the money and books aboard his ship and 
never returned either, that one way of bribery was for presents to be made to the 
wdves of officials of great power and distinction; one lady is named to whom 
business men v-hen presenting a splendid bracelet, waited on her with two that she 
might choose the one most pleasing, and as she had two white arms, she kept both. 

The frequent changes in Spanish rulers of the islands are accounted for by 
the demand for lucrative places, from the many favorites to wdiom it was agreeable 
and exemplary to offer opportunities to make fortunes. It goes hard wdth the de- 
posed Spaniards that they had no chance to harvest perquisites, and must go home 
poor. This is as a fountain of little tears. 

The city of Manila is not lofty in buildings, because it has been twice damaged to 
the verge of ruin by earthquakes and many times searched and shaken by tremen- 



EARLY IIISTOPtY OF THE nilLIPPINES. 273 

clous gales, and is situated on the lands so low that it is not uplifted to the gaze of 
mankind — is not a city upon a hill, and yet it is ^^no mean city.'' Antonio de Morga 
says: 

"The entrance of the Spaniards into the Philippines since the year 1564, and the 
subjection and conversion which has been effected in them, and their mode of govern- 
ment, and that which during these years His Majesty has provided and ordered 
for their good, has been the cause of innovation in many things, such as are usual 
to kingdoms and provinces which charge their faith and sovereign. The first has been 
that, besides the name of Philippines, which they took and received from the be- 
ginning of their conquest, all the islands are now a new kingdom and sovereignty, 
to which His Majesty Philip the Second, our sovereign, gave the name of New 
Kingdom of Castile, of which by his royal privilege, he made the city of Manila 
the capital, giving to it, as a special favor among others, a coat of arms with a 
crown, chosen and appointed by his royal person, which is a scutcheon divideci 
across, and in the upper part a castle on the red field, and in the lower part a lion of 
gold, crowned and rampant, with a naked sword in the dexter hand, and half tne 
hody in the shape of a dolphin upon the waters of the sea, signifying that the Span- 
iards passed over them with arms to conquer this kingdom for the crown of Castile. 

"The Commander-in-Chief, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, first governor of the 
Philippines, founded the city of Manila, in the isle of Luzon, in the same site in which 
Pajamora had his town and fort (as has been said more at length), at the mouth of 
the river which pours out into the bay, on a point which is formed between the 
river and the sea. He occupied the whole of it with this town and divided it among 
the Spaniards in equal building plots, with streets and blocks of houses regularly 
laid out, straight and level leaving a great place, tolerably square, where he erected 
the cathedral church and municipal buildings; and another place of arms, in which 
stood the fort and there also the royal buildings; he gave sites to the monasteries and 
hospital and chapels, which would be built, as this was a city which would grow and 
increase every day, as has already happened; because in the course of time which 
passed by, it has become as illustrious as the best cities of all those parts. 

"The whole city is surrounded by a wall of hewn stone of more than two and a 
half yards in width, and in parts more than three, with small towers and traverses at 
intervals; it has a fortress of hewn stone at the point, which guards the bar and the 
river, with a ravehn close to the water, which contains a few heavy pieces of artillery 
which command the sea and the river, and other guns on the higher part of the 
fort for the defense of the bar, bcskles other middling-sized field guns and swivel 



274 EARLY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

guns, with vaults for supplies and munitions, and a p>owder magazine^ with its 
inner space well protected, and an abundant well of fresh water; also quarters for 
soldiers and artillerymen and a house for the Commandant. It is newly fortified 
on the land side, in the place of arms, where the entrance is through a good vfall, 
and two salient towers furnished with artillery which command the wall and gate. 
This fortress named Santiago, has a detachment of thirty soldiers, with their officers, 
and eight artiller3^men, who guard the gate and entrance in watches, under the 
command of an alcalde who lives within, and has the guard and custody of it. 

"There is another fortress, also of stone, in the same wall, at the ditance of the 
rang'e of a culverin, at the end of the wall which runs along the shore of the bay; 
this is named iNuestra Senora de Guia; it is a very large round block, with its court- 
yard, Avater and quarters, and magazines and other workshops within; it has an out- 
work jutting out towards the beach, in which there are a dozen of large and middle- 
sized guns, which command the bay, and sweep the walls which run from it to the 
port and fort of Santiago. On the further side it has a large salient tower with 
four heavy pieces, which command the beach further on, towards the chapel of 
Nuestra Senora de Guia. The gate and entrance of this is within the city, it is 
guarded by a detachment of twenty soldiers, with their officers, and six artillery- 
men, a commandant, and his lieutenant, who dwell within. 

"On the land side, where the wall extends, there is a bastion called Sant 
Andres, with six pieces of artillery, which can fire in all directions, and a few 
swivel guns; and further on another outwork called San Gabriel, opposite the 
parian of the Sangleys, with the same number of cannon, and both these works have 
some soldiers and an ordinary guard. 

"The wall is sufficiently high, with battlements and turrets for its defense in 
the modern fashions; they have a circuit of a league, which may be traversed on 
the top of the walls, with many stairs on the inside at intervals, of the same stone- 
work, and three principal city gates, and many other posterns to the river and 
beach for the service of the city in convenient places. , All of these gates are shut 
before nightfall by the ordinary patrol, and the keys are carried to the guard-room of 
the royal buildings; and in the morning, when it is day, the patrol returns with 
them and opens the city. 

"The royal magazines are in the parade; in them are deposited and kept all 
the munitions and supplies, cordage, iron, copper, lead, artillery, arquebuses, and 
other things belonging to the royal treasury, with their special officials and work- 
men, who are under the command of the royal officers. 




DISPLAY IN MANILA PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY. INSURGENT LEADERS. 




GROUP OF FILIPINOS WHO WANT INDEPE>fDENCE. 



EARLY HISTOEY OF THE PHILIPPINES. 275 

^^Closc to these magazines is the powder magazine, with its master, officials, and 
convicts, in which, on ordinary occasions, thirty mortars grind powder, and that 
which is damaged is refined. 

"In another part of the city, in a convenient situation, is the cannon foundry, 
with its moulds, furnaces, and instrument founders, and w^orkmen, who carry on 
the works. 

"The royal buildings are very handsome, with a good view, and very roomy, 
with many windows opening seaward and to the parade; they are all of hewn stone, 
with two courts and high and low corridors with thick pillars." 

The city of to-day verifies the descriptive talent and accuracy of this writer. 



CHAPTEE XYIII. 
THE SOUTHEEN PHILIPPmES. 

Important Facts About the Lesser Islands of the Philippine Archipelago— Loca- 
tion^ Size and Population — Capitals and Principal Cities — Elvers and Harbors 
— Surface and Soil — People and Products — Leading Industries — Their Com- 
merce and Business Affairs — The Monsoons and Typhoons — The Terrors of 
the Tempests and How to Avoid Them. 

The island and province of Mindoro lies in the strait of its name and south of 
Luzon. It has in the center an elevated plain, we quote from the military 
notes issued by the War Department, from which many sierras extend in 
different directions to the coast, making the latter rugged and dangerous. The 
island is of an oval form, with a prolongation of the northern portion toward the west. 
Though an easy day's sail from Manila, it is one of the least populous islands of the 
archipelago, being extremely mountainous, covered with dense forests, and in the 
more level parts near the coast full of marshes, and very unhealthful. The inhabi- 
tants of the coast are Tagals, but in the interior there is a low tribe of the Malayan 
race, probably the indigenes of the island, and called Manguianos, speak- 
ing a peculiar language and living in a very miserable manner on the 
products of a rude agriculture. There are also said to be some Negritos, but of these 
very little is known. There are many short streams. The island is 110 miles long 
and has an area of 3,087 square miles. The population is 106,170. There is little 
known of the mountains of the interior, as the inhabitants dwell mainly on the coasts. 
Mindoro constitutes one of the provinces of the Philippines under an alcalde. 

The capital is Calapan, with a population of 5,585. It is situated to the north, 
on the harbor of its name, defended by a fort of regular construction; it has about 
500 houses, among the notable stone ones being the parish, court house and jail, 
and casa real. It is the rsidence of the alcalde mayor and several public function^ 
aries. The city is situated 96 miles from Manila. 

Mount Kalavite is a long-backed promontory, the western slope of which forms 
Cape Kalavite, and the northern slope Point del Monte; the summit, about 2,000 feet 
high, appears dome-shaped when seen from the west, but from the north or south 
it shows a long ridge fairly level; the western end of this ridge is the highest part. 

The capital of the province, Calapan, is a coast town. The inhabitants are occu- 

276 



THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPIXES. 277 

pied in hunting, fishing, and ordinal}- weaving. The commerce is insignificant. 
Sand banks extend in front of the town to a distance of one-half mile. To clear 
these, the northern Silonai islet should not be shut out b}^ Point Calapan. On this 
line, near the north edge of the banks, the soundings are 36 to 46 fathoms. 

The Semirara Islands form a group of eight islands, all surrounded by reefs. 

Semirara, the largest of the group, is hilly, about 512 feet high at the highest 
part. The west coast includes several little bays almost entirely obstructed by reefs, 
on the edge of which are depths of 4| to 13 fathoms; and off the town of Semirara, 
which stands on the top of the hill facing the largest bay, the anchorage is very bad, 
even for coasters. The east coast is bordered by a reef, which extends about a mile 
from the northeast part of the island; on coming from the north this coast of the 
island must not be approached within three miles until the town of Semirara bears 
full west. There is anchorage at the south of the island in 5 to 8 fathoms, sand, dur- 
ing the northeast monsoon. Good coal for steaming purposes was found on the 
island by Captain Yillavicencio, of the Spanish navy. 

Tablas Island is mountainous, and on its northern extremity is the peak Cabezo 
de Tablas, 2,405 feet high; generally the coasts are clear and steep-to. Ofi the north 
end are two rocky islets, distant one cable from the coast; the larger one is clear and 
steep, the smaller one has rocks around it. 

The west coast of Mindoro Island has no soundings oif it excepting in the bays, 
or wdthin one or two miles of the shore in some places. In the interior double and 
treble chains of mountains extend through the island, and some low points of land 
project from them into the sea. 

Paluan Bay affords excellent shelter in the northeast monsoon, and is also a con- 
venient place for vessels to obtain supplies when passing through Mindoro Strait. 
The bay is five miles wide at the entrance, of a semi-circular form, running back 
three miles in a northerly direction. There are no dangers in it. 

A small river disembogues where good water can be obtained with facility; and 
on the beach there is plenty of driftwood. The coral projects one-half mile from 
the entrance of the river, and has 10 and 12 fathoms close to its edge. 

Care must be taken when working into Paluan Bay, for the squalls come violently 
off the high land, and very sudden, and at night do not give the least warning. 

The Calamianes are a group of high islands lying between the northeast end 
of Palawan and Mindoro, and extending between the parallels of 11 degrees 39 min- 
utes and 12 degrees 20 minutes N., and the meridians of 119 degrees 47 minutes 
and 120 degrees 23 minutes E. Busuanga, the largest island of the group, is about 34 



278 THE SOUTHEEN PHILIPPI^^ES. 

miles in extent NW. by W. and SE. b}^ E., and 18 miles broad. It is very irregular 
in form^ being indented with numerous deep bays. The islands and reefs which front 
its northeast side form the western side of Northumberland Strait. 

These islands form, with the northern part of Palawan and the Cuyos Islands, a 
province, the capital of which is at Port Tai Tai. The climate of these islands is in 
general hot and unhealthful. Intermittent fevers and cutaneous diseases prevail, 
attributable, in all probability, to the great moisture and the insalubrious quality of 
the drinking water. All these islands are, generally speaking, hilly and broken. 
The industry of the locality is in collecting Salanganes (edible birds' nests), honey, 
and wax; but cultivation is not practiced to any great extent. The forests produce 
good timber for building or cabinet work. 

Tara Island, when seen from the northward, shows a triple summit to its north- 
west end; while its southern part looks like a separate island, saddle-shaped. The 
island does not appear to be permanently inhabited; in March, 1885, it was occupied 
by parties from Busuanga, burning the grass and digging cassava. 

Lagat is a small island 334 feet high, surrounded by a reef with a narrow passage 
between it and the reef off the south of Tara. 

Botak Island, 800 feet high, is fairly well cultivated. Off its northern end there 
is a queer pin-shaped rock, and off its southern end are same sharp-pointed rocks. 
The vicinity has net been sounded. 

The space included between the Sulu Archipelago to the south and Mindoro to 
the north, and having the Phihppine Islands on the east and Palawan on the west, 
is distinguished by the name of the Sulu Sea. Although of great depth, 2,550 fath- 
oms, this sea, which is in connection with the China and Celebes seas, and also with 
the Pacific by San Bernardino and Surigao straits, has a minimum deep-sea tem- 
perature of 50.5 degrees, reached invariably at 400 fathoms. As this temperature 
in the China Sea is at the depth of 200 fathoms, and in the Celebes Sea at 180 
fathoms, and in the Pacific at 230. fathoms, it may be inferred that the Sulu Sea is 
prevented from freely interchanging its w^aters with those seas by ridges which 
do not exceed those depths. 

In the Sulu Sea easterly winds with fine weather prevail in October, and the 
northeast monsoon is not established imtil N'ovember. In January and February 
it blows hardest, but not with the force of the China seas, and it is felt strongest 
before the openings between Panay and Negros, and Negros and Mindanao. At the 
end of May southwest winds begin to blow, and in a month become established, to 
terminate in October, bringing with them a season made up of rain squalls and tem- 



THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES. 279 

pests, which take place principally in July and August. In September a heavy mi^t 
hangs about the coast of Mindanao. 

The island and province of Paragua is the most western of the Philippine Archi- 
pelago, and is situated to the north of Borneo. It is long and narrow, following a 
northeast direction, and nearly closes on the southwest the Sea of Mindanao, which 
-enters from the China Sea by Balabac Strait on the south and between Mindoro and 
Paragua on the north. A chain of high mountains, some 6,560 feet high, runs length- 
wise of the narrow belt formed by the island, whose length is 266 miles. The north- 
west and northeast slopes are narroAv. The island has extensive and well protected 
harbors and bays. The area is 2,315 square miles and the population 45,000. 

The capital is Puerto Princesa, with a population of 1,589. 

Panay is divided into three provinces, viz: Capiz to the north, Iloilo to the south- 
east, and Antique to the southwest. In general it is wild, with very high coasts, ex- 
cept in the northeastern part, where the latter are somewhat marshy. A mountain 
chain crosses the island from Point Juraojurao on the south as far as Point Potol on 
the north, following a direction almost parallel to the western coast. Large groups 
of sierras branch out to the right and left of the central chain; on the eastern slope 
begins another chain, running northeast to the extreme northeasterly point of the 
islando Owing to its cragginess, it has a great number of streams running in different 
directions. The area is 4,540 square miles. 

The town of Iloilo stands on a low sandy fiat on the right bank of a river; at the 
end of this flat is a spit on which a fort is built, and close to which there is deep 
water. Vessels of moderate draft (15 feet) can ascend the river a short distance 
and lie alongside wharves which communicate with the merchant houses, but large 
vessels must anchor outside near the spit. It is a town of great commercial impor- 
tance, and a brisk coasting trade is carried on from it. The better class of houses in 
Iloilo are built on strong wooden posts, 2 or 3 feet in diameter, that reach to the 
roof; stone walls to the first floor, with wooden windows above, and an iron roof. The 
poorer class of dwellings are flimsy erections of nipa, built on four strong post;. 
The roads and bridges are in a deplorable condition and almost impassable in the 
rainy season. 

The chief imports are Australian coal, and general merchandise from Europe, but 
most sailing ships arrive in ballast. 

The exports are sugar, tobacco, rice, coffee, hides, and hemp; it is also the prin- 
cipal place of manufacture of pina, juse, and sinamoya, a tissue greatly in use among 
the Philippines. In 1883, 93,750 ton^ of sugar were exported, principally to America. 



280 THE SOUTHEEN PHILIPPINES. 

Typhoons do not occur regularly, but in most years the tail of one passes over 
the place, which suffers also from the visitations of locusts. 

Provisions of all kinds can be obtained, but the prices are higher than at Manila. 
In 1886 beef was 12^ cents per pound, bread 11 cents, vegetables 11 cents, fowls $2 
per dozen. Water is scarce and is brought across from Guimaras in tank boats; it is 
supphed to the shipping at the rate of $1 per ton; the Europeans depend mainly 
upon rain water. 

There are generally about 500 tons of coal in store, chiefly Australian; it is kept 
for the supply of local steamers that take in what they require alongside the wharves.. 
Vessels in the roads can have it brought off in bulk in lighters or schooners at a 
co"st of 50 cents a ton. Coolies can be hired at 75 cents per ton, but they will not 
coal vessels if they can get other work. Notice is required the day before coalings 
as men are not kept in readiness. The price of coal in 1886 was $11.00 per ton. 

There is regular weekly communication with Manila, which is 250 miles distant. 

The Province of Capiz is bounded on the north by the Archipelago Sea, on the 
east by the District of Concepcion, on the south by the ridge separating it from 
Iloilo, and on the southwest by the mountains, separating it from 
the Province of Antique. Its very high mountains are covered with luxuriant vege- 
tation, and give rise to many rivers which water the valleys of the province. There 
are gold and copper mines, and much tobacco, sugar, rice, and abaca is raised. Dur- 
ing the year three fairs are held, in which articles of the country are bartered. The 
province is divided into two parts, called Ilaya and Aclan, which are irrigated by 
the rivers Panay and Adan, respectively. The area is 1,543 square miles and the 
population 189,171, distributed among 36 pueblos and 287 barrios. 

The capital is Capiz, with a population of 13,676. It is situated 290 miles from 
Manila. It has a harbor for vessels of ordinary draft, and highroads to Iloilo, 
Antique, and the. District of Concepcion. There is a steamer kept by the state, stop- 
ping at the harbor every 28 days and keeping up communication with Manila, 
Romblon, Iloilo, and Cebu. 

• The Province of Iloilo is to the southeast of the Province of Capiz and west of 
Antique. The ground is generally level, and, being irrigated by numerous rivers^ 
is fertile, so that tobacco, cacao, sugar cane, abaca, rice, and maize are grown; be- 
sides, there is good pasturage for raising herds of cattle and horses, and gold and 
other mines are known. The principal industry is the manufacture of fabrics of 
sinamay, pina, jusi, etc., requiring over 30,000 looms. The dimensions are 99 miles 
in length by 27 miles in width, and the population is 472,728. 



THE SOUTIILEN rJlILlPPlXES. 281 

The capital is Iloilo, with a population of 10,380. It i.< situate.] 3-35 niilc,^ from 
Manila, and is the residence of the governor, captain of port, and a nuniLer of 
treasury, justice, and fomento officials. It has a pretty cathedral, a seminary, casa 
real, and court house. It is one of the most mercantile towns of the Visaya group, 
and has some industries, among which are a machine shop and foundry, a carriage 
factory, and a hat factory. 

The Province of Bohol is bounded on the north by the sea between Cebu and Lejte, 
on the east by the Surigao Sea, on the south by the Sea of Mindanao, and on the 
west by the channel separating it from Cebu. The province is composed of the 
islands of Bohol and Dauis. They are somewhat mountainous and well wooded, and 
coffee, abaca, sugar- cane, and tobacco are raised. In the mountains of Bohol game 
is plenty, and many coal and phosphate of iron mines are supposed to exist. Manu- 
factures consist in fabrics of sinamay and other materials. The area is 1,617 square 
miles and the population 247,745. 

The capital is Tagbilaran, with a population of 8,638. It is situated 365 miles 
from Manila. 

The island and province of Cebu are the most important of the Yisaj'as, on 
account of the central position, nature of the soil, and the industry of its numerous 
inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by the sea separating it from Masbate and 
Leyte, on the east by the sea separating it from Leyte and Bohol, on the south 
by the Mindanao Sea, and on the w^est by the Tanon Channel and the island of 
}^egros. The area is 2,092 square miles and the population 504,076. Great mountain 
chains cross the island; the chief of these starts at the extreme north between Point 
Marab on the west and Baluarte on the east, and, continuing south between the two 
coasts, ends almost in the center of the island. Two other chains run along the coast, 
and one starts near Carcas, to the southwest of the city of Cebu, terminating on the 
south in Tanon Point. The coasts are high and the rivers of little importance. 

The capital is Cebu, with a population of 35,243. It is the mercantile center of 
the islands, and is situated 460 miles from Manila. It is an Episcopal see, and has 
a good cathedral, Episcopal palace, casa real, court house, and private edifices, simple biftfc 
tasty; there is also a postoffice and telegraph station. On the south, and at the en- 
trance of the channel, is the castle of Point Cauit, and north of this the tower of Mas- 
daui; both these fortifications communicate with the capital by means of a wagon 
road, the city being midway between them. At the capital reside the politico- 
military governor, a secretary, judge and attorney-general, a number of public func- 
tionaries, a captain of engineers, and the captain of the port. 



282 THE SOUTHEEX PHILIPPIXES. 

Maktan Island consists of an old coral reef^ raised a few feet (8 or 10 at most) 
above the present sea level. At the northern part of the island^ vrhcre a convent 
stands, a low cliff fringes the shore, being an npper stratnm of the npheaved reef, 
The raised reef is here preserved, but over the portion of the island immediately 
fronting Cebn it has been removed by denudation, with the exception of a few pillar- 
Jike blocks which remain, and which are conspicuous from the anchorage. The 
surface is scooped out into irregular basins and sharp projecting pinnacles and cov- 
ered in all directions with mud, resulting from the denudation. Xearly all the island 
is covered by mangroves, but on the part left dry there are plantations of cocoanuts. 

The only town on the island is Opon, on the west coast, SW. of Mandaui Point 
in Cebu. It was here that Magellan was killed in 1521, after making the first passage 
across the Pacific. 

The town of Cebu is the most ancient in the Philippines; it is the seat of govern- 
ment of the Yisayan Islands, which include Cebu, Bohol, Panay, Xegros, and Leyte, 
and it is the residence of a bishop. It is built on a large plain at the foot of the 
chain of hills that traverse the island throughout its length, and is a well-constructed, 
thriving place; the merchants' quarter is situated along the port, and includes some 
well-built stone houses, though many are of old construction. The huts of the Malays, 
for the most part fishermen, are on the beach, and form the west part of the city. 
The fort is a triangular edifice of stone, painted red, with an open scjuare in front. 

The island of 'Leyte is bounded on the north by the canal separating it from 
Samar, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the sea separating it from 
Bohol and Cebu, and on the south by the one separating it from Z\Iindanao. It is 
extensive and irregular, having an area of 3,087 square miles and a population of 
210,491. A high and abrupt mountain chain crosses the island nearly parallel to 
the west coast; the coasts are high, with good natural harbors. In the northern 
part and on the western slopes of the great sierras, streams of potable water and also 
many lagoons abound. This is different from the eastern part, where the latter are 
scarce. The principal product of the island is abaca, but rice is also raised and co- 
coanut oil is extracted. There are unworked mines of gold, magnetite, and sulphur. 

The capital is Tacloban, with a population of 5,226. It is situated 338 miles 
from Manila. Among the important towns are Baru, population 12,222; Borauen, 
21,290; Canyaia, 13,732; Dagami, 25,000; Hilongos, 13,713; Jaio, 12,475; Massiii, 
18,499; Palo, 17,736; Tauauau, 18,509. 

The island of Xegros is mountainous and wild; its coasts are difficult of access, 
and the breakers strong, except on the west coast from Point Bulucabo on the north 



THE SOUTHERN rillLIPPlNES. 2S3 

of Palompon on the west, where it is marshy. A high mountain chain crosses it 
from Point Doong on the north to the Iiarbor and point Bombonon on the south; 
from the last third extend several ramifications of high mountains, terminating 
on the coast at the extreme south and in the Sierra Dumaguete. Its streams are 
not important, being short and of little value. The ground is uneven but fertile. 
The natives irrigate their estates, and produce tobacco, coffee, sugar cane, and wheat. 
Manufactures consist in fabrics of abaca and canonegro, of which boat cables are 
made. The interior of the island, covered with thick forests, is almost unexplored, 
being inhabited by a few savages. 

The Province of Western Negros is situated on Negros Island, it is bounded on 
the north b}- the Yisayas Sea, on the west by the Paragua Sea, and on the south and 
east by the Province of Eastern Negros. The area is 1,929 square miles, and the 
population 226,995. 

The capital is Bacolod, Avith a population of 6,268. It is the residence of the 
politico-miHtary governor, the secretary, judge, attorney-general, and several pubhc 
functionaries. 

It is situated 379 miles from Manila. 

The Province of Kegros has a population of 9-1,782— the capital, Dumaguete, 
13,613. 

The Province of Romblon consists of the following six islands: Eomblon (the 
principal one), Tablas, Sibuyan, Banton, Simara, and Maestre Campo. It is bounded 
on the north by the Tayabas Sea, on the south by the Yisayas Sea, on the east by 
the Sea of Masbate, and on the west by the Sea of Mindoro. The area is 813 square 
miles, and the population 38,633, distributed among 13 barrios and 3 rancherias of 
infieles. 

The capital is Eomblon, with a population of 6,761. It is situated on the harbor 
of the same name at the north of the island, 201 miles from Manila, and is the resi- 
dence of the politico-military commander. 

The Island and Province of Samar is situated to the southeast of Luzon, it is 
bounded on the north by the Strait of San Bernardino, on the south by the Jaha- 
netes Canal, separating it from Leyte Island, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on 
the west by the Visayas Sea. It is very mountainous, with high, steep coasts. A 
number of sierras and mountains extend in various directions, forming valleys and 
glens fertilized by numerous rivers, which, however, have little current and volume. 
The length of the island is 155 miles. The chief products are abaca, rice, and cocoa- 
nuts, oil being extracted from the latter. Among the medicinal plants the moit 



284 THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES. 

highly valued is the catbalonga seed. Commerce is quite active in spite of the few 
inearLS of communication and the dangerous coasts. The island is visited yearly 
by tornadoes which devastate crops and cause much damage to agriculture. The 
high mountains and thick forests of the interior are inhabited by a great number of 
ravages who have sought refuge here. The area is 4,699 square miles, and the pop- 
ulation 200,753, distributed among 43 pueblos, 208 visitas, and 3 rancherias of sub- 
dued infieles. 

The capital is Catbalogan, population of 6,459, situated on the harbor and bay 
of like name on the west of the island 338 miles from Manila, and is the residence of 
the politico-military governor. 

The Jolo Archipelago, formed of some 160 islands, is situated southwest of 
Mindanao and south of Basilan. It is bounded on the south by the Jolo Sea, on 
the northeast by Mindanao and on the west and southwest by Borneo. The small 
islands are covered with mangroves, while the large ones have thick forests of good 
timber, and the natives raise rice, maize, and various alimentary roots, ambergris 
being found on the coasts. The principal island, called Sulu, or Jolo (ch. 47, 48, 49, 
50, p. 285), is occupied in a military way by the Spanish forces, whose chief, or gov- 
ernor, resides in the old capital, which has well-constructed and armed forts, a pier, 
etc. By royal decree of November 13, 1877, the sultanship was transformed into a 
civico-military government. The population consists of 500 aborigines, 612 Chinese 
traders, and 16,000 negroes. 

Next to Luzon, the island of Mindanao is the most extensive and important of 
the Philippines. 

By decree of July 30, 1860, the territorial division of this island was definitely 
established, and a civico-military government, under the denomination of Mindanao 
and adjacent islands, was created. It is divided into eight districts. The island is 
situated between Visayas on the north and Borneo on the south; it is bounded on 
the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the island of Paragua, the Strait 
of Balabac, and Borneo. The area is 16,595 square miles, and the population 611,300, 
of which 211,000 are Christians and the rest Mohammedans and Pagans. It is very 
extensive and irregular in form, possessing high and extended mountain chains, 
which have not been entirely explored, and which are grown over with very rich 
woods. It is inhabited almost throughout the interior by savages. Its rivers, some of 
great volume, are as follows: On the north coast and Butuan Bay, the Jabonga and 
Butuan; on the Macajalar coast, the Cagayan; in Eligan Bay, the Malanao and others 
of minor importance; in the cove of Dapitan, the Palaven. 



THE SOUTHEK:^ PIIlLlPPiXES. 285 

In Port Kakule the greatest rise of tide is seven feet. In Surigao Strait the flood 
tide sets to the west, and the ebb to the east. The velocity of the stream in the strait 
reaches six knots at springs. There is a difference of about two hours between 
the time of high water at Surigao and in Surigao Strait. Fishermen roughly esti- 
mate that when the moon rises the ebb tide commences to run in Surigao Strait. 
From January to June there is but one high water during the twenty-four 
hours, in Surigao Strait, which occurs during the night. From July 
to December the same phenomenon takes place, but the time of high water is by day. 

From observations made by the Spanish surveyors, it appears that the highest 
tide on the west coasts of the islands of the strait takes place at the same hour as the 
lowest tide on the east coasts. 

The Mindanao river disembogues five miles to the south of Palak Harbor by two 
wide arms, on the northernmost of which is the town of Kota-batu, about 5J miles 
from the mouth. The river is navigable for 60 miles by vessels of 3 J feet draught: 
it flows through a beautiful valley 30 miles in width, which scarcely shows any 
change of level; the valley is capable of producing tobacco, cacao, sugar, maize, and 
cotton; but this is only known at present by specimens produced. The course of 
the river lies SE. for 45 miles from its mouth to the lake Ligauasan, out of which it 
is seen to flow; from the other side of the lake the direction of the river is N^NE. to 
its source in the Sugut Mountains. At 21 miles from the northern mouth the river 
divides into two arms, which enter the sea 4J miles apart. 

In the northern part of Mindanao is the province of Surigao, bordered on the 
north by the Surigao Sea, on the east by the Pacific, on the south by the District of 
Davao, and on the west by the territory of the infieles. It is mountainous, but 
the Christian population resides on the coasts and in the northern point of the terri- 
tory. The population is 95,775, distributed among 45 pueblos, 10 barrios, and 30 
rancherias of subdued infieles. Abaca and palay are raised, and in the gold washings 
considerable gold of good quality is found. 

Military notes on the Philippines affirm that the islands are, in many respects, 
Spain's best possessions, due to the abundance and variety of products, numerous 
and good ports, character of inhabitants, and on account of the vicinity of certain 
countries of eastern Asia, which are now entering upon a stage of civilization and 
commerce. The group is composed of some 2,000 islands. In 1762 Manila was taken 
and held by the English for a ransom of 1,000,000 pounds sterling. This, however, 
was never paid, and the islands were finally returned to Spain. 

The archipelago extends from 5 degrees 32 minutes to 19 degrees 38 minutes, 



286 THE SOUTHEEN PHILIPPINES. 

north latitude, and from 117 degrees to 126 degrees, east longitude. It tlius covers 
about 1,000 miles north and south and 600 east and west. 

The whole surface of the Philippines is essentially mountainous, the only plains 
that occur being alluvial districts at the river mouths and the spaces left by the 
intersection of the ranges. The principal ranges have a tendency to run north 
and south, with a certain amount of deflection east and west, as the case may be,, 
so that the orographic diagram of the archipelago, as a whole, has a similarity to a 
fan, with northern Luzon as its center of radiation. 

While none of the mountain peaks greatly exceed 8,000 feet in height, Apo, in 
Mindanao, is over 9,000 feet; Halson, in Mindoro, is aver 8,900 feet; and Mayon, in 
Luzon, over 8,200. The latter is an active volcano, which has been the scene of 
several eruptions during the present century. Extinct or active craters are relatively 
as numerous in the Philippines as in the eastern archipelago, and as a consequence of 
these subterranean forces earthquakes are frequent and violent. 

In 1627 one of the most elevated mountains of Cagayan disappeared, and on the 
island of Mindanao, in 1675, a passage was opened to the sea and a vast plain 
emerged. The more recent of the convulsions occurred in 1863 and in 1880. The 
destruction of property was great, especially in Manila. 

The general belief is that the Philippines once formed a part of an enormous 
continent from which it was separated by some cataclysm. This continent probably 
extended from Celebes to the farthest Polinesian islands on the east, to New Zealand 
on the south, and the Mariana and Sandwich islands on the north. 

These islands, according to Eamon Jordana, are divided into two volcanic re- 
gions, the eastern and the western. The principal point is the volcano Taal, located 
in the northeastern portion of the province of Batangas. It is situated on a small 
island in the center of the Bombon laguna, and has an altitude of 550 feet above sea 
level. Its form is conical, and the rock is composed of basalt feldspar with a small 
quantity of augite. The crater is supposed to be 232 feet deep. Its sides are almost 
vertical, and there are two steaming lagunas at its bottom. 

In the regions embracing the provinces of Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, 
and Pangasinan the soil is mostly composed of clay containing remnants of sea shells, 
a circumstance which gives rise to the belief that the coast of Manila has risen from 
the sea in not so remote an epoch. Smooth, dark gray tophus predominates; it forms 
the bed of the Eio Pasig, and rising forms hillocks in the vicinity of the city of 
Binangonan. Farther on, trachyte and banks of conchiferous sand predominate. 



THE SOUTHERX PHILimXKS. £87 

The vast plain of Panpanga extends to the north of Manila Bay^ to the south of 
which is situated Mount Arayat, of doleritic nature. 

The disposition of the mountain ranges in parallel chains affords space for the- 
development of streams both in Luzon and Mindanao. The larger islands contain 
inland seas, into which pour countless small streams from the inland hills. Many of 
them open out into broad estuaries, and in numerous instances coasting vessels of 
light draft can sail to the very foot of the mountains. Elvers and inland lake& 
swarm with varieties of fish and shellfish. By reason of Spanish restrictions, but little- 
can be said as to the character of the stream banks and beds. Four of the rivers are 
navigable, and, by the statements of those who have spent some little time on the 
islands, most are fordable. Drinking water is obtained by many of the towns from 
the rivers at points just above tide limits, and the water is said to be good. Bridges 
are few and crude, but are generally built to withstand heavy strain. 

The island of Luzon abounds in rivers and streams. The following are the prin- 
cipal water courses: 

Eio Grande de Cagayan, the source of which is in the northern slope of the Cara- 
ballo I^orte. It has numerous afiiuents, among others the Magat and Bangag, and^ 
after a course of about 200 miles, falls into the China Sea in the vicinity of AparrL 

Agno Grande starts in the north, in the neighborhood of the ranch of Loo, re- 
ceives the affluents Tarlag and Camiling, as well as many others, has a course of 
about 112 miles, and falls into the Gulf of Lingayen. 

Abra has its origin on the opposite slope to that where Agno Grande takes its 
rise; runs for about 87 miles, and, after receiving the affluent Suyoc, divides into 
three arms and falls into the China Sea over the sand bars of Butao, Xioig, and Dile. 
Eio Grande de la Pampanga is called Eio Chico up to the lake of Canasen, near 
Arayat, where it changes its name after its junction with Eio Gapan. Its course is a 
Httle over 38 miles; it receives the Eio de San Jose and divides into a multitude of 
arms as it falls into the sea to the north of Manila Bay. 

Eio Pasig has its source in the Bay Lagoon, and falls after a course of 19 miles 
into Manila Bay. 

The military notes on the climate of the Philippines, the official record of the 
temperature and the gales and typhoons, and directions regarding the handling of 
ships in the peculiar tempests that prevail at certain seasons around the islands, are 
of absorbing popular interest, and of striking special usefulness. 

Climate.— In the region of Manila the hottest season is from March to June, the 
greatest heat being felt in May before the rains set in, when the maximum tempera- 



288 THE SOUTHEEN PHILIPPINES. 

ture ranges from 80 degrees to 100 degrees in the shade. The coolest weather occurs 
in December and January, when the temperature falls at night to 60 or 65 degrees, 
and seldom rises in the day above 75 degrees. From November to February the sky 
is bright, the atmosphere cool and dry, and the weather in every way delightful. Ob- 
servations m.ade at the Observatortio Meteorologico de Manila have been compiled by 
the United States Weather Bureau, covering a record of from seventeen to thirty-two 
years, from which the following is an extract: 

Temperature, degrees F.: . 

Mean annual 80 degrees 

Warmest month 82 degrees 

Coolest month 79 degrees 

Highest 100 degrees 

Lowest 60 degrees 

Humidity: 

Eelative per cent 78 

Absolute grains per cubic foot 8.75 

Wind movements in miles: 

Daily mean. 134 

Greatest daily 204 

Least daily 95 

Prevailing wind direction — NE., November to April; SW., May to October. 

Cloudiness, annual per cent 53 

Days with rain 135 

Eainfall in inches: 

Mean annual ." 75.43 

Greatest monthly 120.98 

• Least monthly 55.65 

The following is the mean temperature for the three seasons, at points specified: 

Cold. Hot. Wet. 

Manila 72 degrees 87 degrees 84 degrees 

Cebu 75 degrees 86 degrees 75 degrees 

Davao 86 degrees 88 degrees 87 degrees 

Sulu 81 degrees 82 degrees 83 degrees 

Seasons vary with the prevailing winds (monsoons or trade winds) and are classed 
as ^Vef and "dry.'' There is no abrupt change from one to the other, and between 
periods there are intervals of variable weather. 

The Spanish description of seasons is as follows: 

Seis meses de lodo — six months of mud. 

Seis meses de polvo — six months of dust. 

Seis meses de torlo — six months of everything. 

The northern islands lie in the track of the typhoons which, developing in the 



THE SOUTHEHxM PHILIPPINES. 289 

Pacific, sweejo over the China Sea from NE. to SW. during the southwest monsoon. 
They may be looked for at any time between May and November, but it is during 
the months of July, August, and September that they are most frequent. Early 
in the season the northern region feels the greatest force, but as the season advances 
the typhoon gradually works southward and the dangerous time at Manila is about 
the end of October and the beginning of November. Typhoons rarel}', if ever, pass 
.south of 9 degrees N. latitude. Sometimes the typhoon is of large diameter and 
travels slowly, so far as progressive movement is concerned; at others it is of smaller 
dimensions, and both the circular and progressive motions are more rapid. How- 
ever they are alwa3's storms of terrific energy and frequently cause terrible destruc- 
tion of crops and property on shore and of shipping at sea. Thunderstorms, often 
of great violence, are frequent in May and June, before the commencement of the 
rainy season. During July, August, September, and October the rains are very 
heavy. The rivers and lakes are swollen and frequently overflow, flooding large 
tracts of low country. 

At Manila the average rainfall is stated to be from 75 to 120 inches per annum, and 
there the difference bet^reen the longest and shortest day is only 1 hour 47 min- 
utes and 12 seconds. This rainfall, immense though it be, is small as compared with 
that of other parts of the archipelago; e. g., in Liano, NE. of Mindanao, the average 
yearly downpour is 142 inches. 

Gales. — The gales of the Philippines may be divided into three classes, known by 
the local names of Colla, Nortada, and Baguio. The -CoUa is a gale in which the 
wind blows constantly from one quarter, but with varying force and with alternations 
of violent squalls, calms, and heavy rains, usually lasting at least three days; these 
gales occur during the southwest monsoon and their direction is from the southwest 
quarter. The Nortada is distinguished from the Collo, in that the direction is con- 
stant and the force steady, without the alternations of passing squalls and calms. 
The Nortada is generally indicative that a typhoon is passing not very far off. 
These gales occur chiefly in the northern islands, and their direction, as the name 
implies, is from the northward. Baguio is the local name for the revolving storm 
known as the typhoon, which, being the more familiar term, will be used in these 
notes 

Typhoons. — These storms have their origin to the cast or to the southeast of 
the Philippines, whence their course is westward, with a slight divergence to the 
north or south, the average direction appearing to be west by north. They occur 
In all months of the year, but the greater number take place about the time of tlic 



290 THE SOUTHERISr PHILIPPINES. 

equinoxes. The most violent ones occur at the autumnal equinox, and on an aver- 
age, two or three occur every year, and sometimes one follows another at a very short 
interval. It is believed that when one of these typhoons passes a high latitude in 
September there will be another in October of that year, and one may be looked 
for in November in a lower latitude. These tempests are not encountered in lati- 
tudes below 9 degrees N. The rate of progress of these storms is about 13 miles 
an hour; in none of those observed has it exceeded 14 miles nor fallen below 11 miles. 
The diameter of the exterior revolving circle of the storm varies from 40 to 130 
miles, and the diameter of the inner circle or calm region, may be estimated at from 
8 to 15 miles. The duration of the true typhoon at any one place is never longer than 
ten hours and generally much less. These storms are always accompanied by abun- 
dant rain, with low, dense clouds, which at times limit the horizon to a few yards 
distance, and are generally accompanied by electrical discharges. The barometer 
falls slowly for some days before the typhoon, then falls rapidly on its near approach, 
and reaches its lowest when the vortex is but a little way off. It then rises rapidly 
as the vortex passes away, and then slowly when it has gained some distance. Near 
the vortex there are usually marked oscillations. The typhoon generally begins with 
a northerly wind, light drizzling rain, weather squally and threatening, a falling bar- 
ometer and the wind veering to the eastward, when the observer is to the north- 
ward of the path of the storm, and backing to the westward when he is to the south- 
ward of it; the wind and rain increase as the wind shifts, and the storm generally 
ends with a southerly wdnd after abating gradually. 

The following warnings of the approach of a typhoon, and directions for avoid- 
ing the most dangerous part of it, are taken from the China Sea Directory: The ear- 
liest signs of a typhoon are clouds of a cirrus type, looking like fine hair, feathers 
or small white tufts of wool, traveling from east or north, a slight rise in the barom- 
eter, clear and dry weather, and light winds. These signs are followed by the usual 
ugly and threatening appearance of the weather which forebodes most storms, and 
the increasmg number and severity of the gusts with the rising of the wind. In some 
cases one of the earliest signs is a long heavy swell and confused sea, which comes 
from the direction in which the storm is approaching, and travels more rapidly 
than the storm's center. The best and surest of all warnings, however, will be found 
in the barometer. In every case there is great barometric disturbance. Accordingly, 
if the barometer falls rapidly, or even if the regularity of its diurnal variation be in- 
terrupted, danger may be apprehended. No positive rule can be given as to the 
amount of depression to be expected, but at the center of some of the storms the 



THE SOUTHERX PHILMTIXKS. ' 291 

barometer is said to stand fully 2 inches lower than outside the storm field. The 
average barometric gradient, near the vortex of the most violent of these storms, is 
said to be rather more than 1 inch iu 50 nautical miles. As the center of the storm 
is approached the more rapid become the changes of wind, until at length, instead 
of its direction altering gradually, as is the case on first entering the storm field, 
the wind flies around at once to the opposite point, the sea meanwhile breaking into 
mountainous and confused heaps. There are many instances on record of the wind 
suddenly falling in the vortex and the clouds disper.sing for a short interval, though 
the wind soon blows again with renewed fury. 

In the northern hemisphere when the falling barometer and other signs create 
suspicion that a t}~phoon is approaching, facing the wind and taking 10 or 12 
points to the right of it, will give the approximate bearing of its center. Thus, with 
the wind NE., the center will probably be from S. to SSE. of the observer's position. 
However, it is difficult to estimate the center of the vortex from any given point. 
This partly arises from the nncertainty as to the relation between the bearing of the 
center and the direction of the wind, and greatly from there being no means of knowing 
whether the storm be of large or small dimensions. H the barometer falls slowly, and 
the weather grows worse only gradually, it is reasonable to suppose that the storm 
center is distant; and conversely, with a rapidly falling barometer and increasing 
bad weather the center may be supposed to be approaching dangerously near. 

Practical Kules. — When in the region and in the season of revolving storms, 
be on the watch for premonitory signs. Constantly observe and carefully record the 
barometer. 

When on sea and there are indications of a typhoon being near, heave to and 
carefully observe and record the changes of the barometer and wind, so as to find 
the bearing of the center, and ascertain by the shift of the wind in which semi- 
circle the vessel is situated. Much will often depend upon heaving to in time. 
When, after careful observation, there is reason to believe that the center of the 
typhoon is approaching, the following rules should be followed in determining wheth- 
er to remain hove to or not, and the tack on which to remain hove to: 

In the northern hemisphere, if the right-hand semicircle, heave to on the star- 
board tack. If in the left-hand semicircle, run, keeping the wind if possible, on 
the starboard quarter, and when the barometer rises, if necessary to keep the ship 
from going too far from the proper course, heave to on the port tack. When the 
vessel lies in the direct line of advance of the storm — which position is, as previously- 
observed, the most dangerous of all — run with the wind on the starboard quarter. In 



292 THE SOUTHEKN PHILIPfraES. 

all cases increase as soon as possible the distance from the center, bearing in mind 
tliat the whole storm field is advancing. 

In receding from the center of a typhoon che barometer will rise and the wind 
and sea subside. It should be remarked that in some cases a vessel may, if the storm 
be traveling slowly, sail from the dangerous semicircle across the front of the storm, 
and thus out of its influence. But as the rate at which the storm is traveling is 
quite uncertain, this is a hazardous proceeding, and before attempting to cross the 
seaman should hesitate and carefully consider all the circumstances of the case, ob- 
serving particularly the rate at which the barometer is falling. 

Northward of the Equator the current is divided into north and south 
equatorial currents by the equatorial countercurrent, a stream flowing from west to 
east throughout the Pacific Ocean. The currents in the western part of the Pacific, 
to the northward of the Equator, are affected by the monsoons, and to the southward 
of the Equator they are deflected by the coast of Australia. 

The trade drift, which flows to the westward between the parallels of 9 degrees 
and 20 degrees N., on reaching the eastern shores of the Philippine Islands again 
turns to the northward, forming near the northern limit of that group the com- 
mencement of the Japan stream. The main body of the current then flows along 
the east coast of Formosa, and from that island pursues a northeasterly course 
through the chain of islands l3dng between Formosa and Japan; and sweeping along 
the southeastern coast of Japan in the same general direction, it is known to reach 
the parallel of 50 degrees N. The limits and velocity of the Japan stream are consid- 
erably influenced by the monsoons in the China Sea, and by the prevailing winds 
in the corresponding seasons in the Yellow and Japan seas; also by the various 
drift currents which these periodic winds produce. 

Admiral Dewey has forwarded to the navy department a memorandum on min- 
eral resources of the Philippines prepared at the admiral's request by Professor 
George W. Becker of the United States geological survey. Only about a score of the 
several hundred islands, he says, are known to contain deposits of valuable minerals. 
He includes a table showing the mineral bearing islands and their resources. This 
table follows: 

"Luzon, coal, gold, copper, lead, iron, sulphur, marble, kaolin; Sataanduanes, 
Sibnyan, Bohol and Panaoan, gold only; Marimduque, lead and silver; Mindoro, coal^ 
gold and copper; Carraray, Batan, Eapu Rapu, Semarara, Negros, coal only; Masbete^, 
coal and copper; Eomblon, marble; Samar, coal and gold; Panay, coal, oil, gas, gold, 
copper, iron and perhaps mercury; Biliram, sulphur only; Leyte, coal, oil and per- 



THE SOUTHEEN PHILIPPINES. 293 

haps mercury; Cebu, coal, oil, gas, gold, lead, silver and iron; Mindanao coal, gold, 
copper and platinum; Sulu archipelago, pearls." 

The coal, Mr. Becker says, is analogous to the Japanese coal and that of Wash- 
ington, but not to that of the Welsh or Pennsylvania coals. . It might better be 
characterized as a highly carbonized lignite, likely to contain much sulphur as iron 
pyrites, rendering them apt to spontaneous combustion and injurious to boiler plates. 
Nevertheless, he says, when pyrites seams are avoided and the lignite is properly 
handled, it forms a valuable fuel, especially for local consumption. 

Not least among the promising resources of the Philippines is a curious natural 
product. Several vegetable growths appear to possess the faculty of secreting 
mineral concretions, in all respects resembling certain familiar precious stones. The 
famous James Smithson was the first to give any real attention to these curious 
plant gems, but, though there can be no doubt of their authenticity, neither scientist 
nor merchant has followed this lead. One of the jewels, the bamboo opal, rivals the 
best stones in its delicate tints of red and green, but it is among the rarest, and 
1,000 stems may be cut up before a single specimen be found. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

SPECIFICATIONS OF GEIEVANCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 

An Official Copy of the Manifesto of the Junta Showing the Bad Faith of Spain in 
the Making and Evasion of a Treaty-^The Declaration of the Renewal of the 
War of Rebellion — Complaints Against the Priests Defined — The Most Im- 
portant Document the Filipinos Have Issued — Official Reports of Cases of 
Persecution of Men and Women in Manila by the Spanish Authorities — Mem- 
oranda of the Proceedings in Several Cases in the Court of Inquiry of the 
United States Officers. • 

The pages following, showing a cynical disregard of a solemn treaty by the 
Spaniards, a complete exposure of the reasons the Filipinos had for renewing the 
war, and the particulars of cases of individual wrongr suffered, as they were made 
known in the course of legal investigation, have been received direct from Manila, and 
enable us to complete the story of the Philippines with the testimony that the 'de- 
pravity of bad faith in regard to treaties, and incidents of personal cruelties in 
Spanish colonial governments, have illustrations in the Philippines as in Cuba, 
and demand of the American Nation in the hour of victory that Spain shall lose now 
and forever all her possessions in the East and West Indies, and be restricted to the 
peninsula and islands — the Canary and Balearic groups — that is, in tw^o words to 
home rule. The circumstances of the treaty between the Philippine Junta — the 
"treaty of Biyak — and the Spanish authorities, are of great notoriety, but the Philip- 
pine story has not until now reached the English speaking peoples. We give it from 
the official paper: 

"On signing the Treaty of Biyak na bato, we, the natives of the Philippines and 
the government of Spain, agreed that between our armies be established an armistice 
which was to last three years from the date of the- mentioned treaty. 

"The natives were to lay down their arms and turn them over to the Spanish au- 
thorities with all their depot (maestranza, a manufactory of ammunition, for repairs of 
lifles, etc., etc.) their ammunitions and forts, 

"The Spanish authorities, on the other hand, bound themselves to consent to 
the reforms (of public opinion amongst) the natives of the country claim; reforms 
which, according to the text of the decree of 9th August, 1897, the Captain and 
Guberno General assured us were granted and the execution of which was suspended 
on account of the insurrection. 

294 




00 

ft 

< 

a 
m 

W 
H 

O 
cc 

E+ 
O 

O 
H' 
ft. 

04 

X- 
H. 



:z: 

o 

P4- 

o- 
o 
C4- 
B' 

w 

02 

S' 

cu- 
te 

o 

p. 

Pi 
< 



SPECIFICATIOXS OF GRIEVANCES OF THE FILIPIXOS. 2%o 

"The reforms asked for and granted were the following: 

1. Expulsion or at least exclaustration of the religious orders. 

2. Representation of the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes. 

3. Application of real justice in the Philippines, equal for the Indian and for the 
Peninsular. Unity of laws between Spain and the Philippines. Participation of the 
Indians in the chief offices of the Civil Administration. 

4. Adjustment of the property of the Parishes (church property) and of contri- 
butions in favor of the Indians. 

5. Proclamation of the individual rights of the Indians^ as also of the liberty 
•of the press pnd of association, 

"The same Spanish government agreed to pay the liberating government a war 
indemnity, reduced to the limited sum -of G00,000 pesos, in payment of the arms, 
ammunitions, depots and forts which were surrendered, and in order to indemnify 
those who were to be obliged to live abroad during the term of the armistice, as an 
assistance to stay out of the Philippines while they were tr^'ing to establish them- 
selves and looking for legitimate and decorous means of existence. 

"It was agreed in like manner that General Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, Gob- 
-erno General of the islands, should remain in his post during the time of the ar- 
mistice, as a guarantee that the reforms be established. 

"And, finally, said authority promised that he would propose and there would be 
conceded a very ample amnesty. 

"Contrary to what was stipulated, the mentioned General was removed from his 
post shortly after the agreement, was signed; and although the liberating govern- 
ment had fulfilled the laying down and delivery of the arms, ammunitions, depot 
and forts of its general encampment, the reforms were not established, only part of 
the offered indemnity has been paid and the amnesty remains a project onh', some 
pardons being given. 

"The government of Madrid, deriding the natives, and with contempt of what 
had signed as a gentleman the General Commander of their army in the field, tried, 
instead of carrying out the expulsion or exclaustration of the Priests, to elevate 
them more, nominating at once for the two bishoprics, vacant in the colonies, two 
Priests of those same religious orders that oppressed the country and were the first 
cause of the insurrection, the disorder and the general dissatisfaction in the islands; 
thus ridiculing the virtue, knowledge and worth of the numerous secular Spanish 
clerg}^, and especially of that of the Philippines. 

"iN'ot contented with this, thev have raised and rewarded those Peninsulars who 



296 SPECIFICATIOJSTS OF GEIEVANCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 

in the Philippines, as in Madrid, more coTs-ardl}- and miserable still, because they 
abused their position and the protection of those same authorities who signed the 
treaty, insulted at banquets, assemblies and through the press, with epithets and 
jokes offensive and vulgar, the patient natives; as happened with the Peninsular 
Eafael Ccmenge, the protege and farcical table companion of the Priest, who amongst 
us performs the duties of the Archbishopric of Manila; the Minister of War has 
just conceded the said Comenge the grand cross of military merit, for shoutino- against 
us and imputing to us every kind of baseness and vices, knowing that he was lying, 
and for exacting from the gamblers of the Casino Espanol of Manila, as their presi- 
dent^ the contribution of 30,000 pesos, to present General Primo de Eivera with a 
golden statute of that value, and, a curious coincident, this brave was one of the 
first who escaped from Manila, full of feat when the news arrived there that an 
American squadron would attack that port and that the risk he would run was reaL 

^'You have seen before now, how that insect AYencestao Eetana was rewarded with 
a cooked up deputyship to the Cortes, that salaried reptile of the Philippine con- 
vents, who, with the aid of that tyrant General Weyler, his worthy godfather, the 
despotic incendiary of the town of Calamba, of ominous memory amongst us, does 
nothing but vomit rabid foam, insulting us by day and night with calumnies and 
shrieks, in that paper whose expenses the Procurators of the Manila convents pay. 

^''Prepare yourselves also for seeing that a titled nobility be given to the well 
known ^Quioguiap' (fecer y Temprado), writer in the ^El Liberat,' of Madrid, who, 
to be in unison with the priests, does not cease to call us inferior race, troglodytes, 
without human nature or understanding, big boy; the same who, in order to de- 
prive the rich ^Abellas' (father and son) of Carnarines, of the position they had con- 
quered by their industr}^, economy and intelligence as almost exclusive purchasers 
of the Abaco (Manila hemp) of that region, tried and succeeded villainously in 
having them accused and shot in the camp of Bagumbayan; the same who afterwards 
sought in vain the reward of his criminal attempts, although conscious of his per- 
verseness, to deliver to himself the produce of their harvest and their labor. 

"Peace was hardly made, when General Primo de Eivera denied the existence of 
the agreement and shot day after day those same persons whom he had promised 
to protect, believing foohshly that, the nucleus of the revolution once destroyed, 
the insurgents would need thirty or forty years in order to reunite themselves; but 
he accepted freely the pension of the grand cross of San Fernando, which, as a 
reward for the peace, he was given. 

"The same happened with bloodthirsty Monet, the author of the hecatomb of 



SPECIFICATIONS OF GEIEYANCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 297 

Zambales, who was promoted to the rank of a general and honored by a grand cross;' 
also with his competitor in brutal deeds, General Tejeirs, the assassin of the Bisayos, 
and with the Vice Admiral Montojo, so severely punished later on, by whose orders 
the city of Cebu was destroyed and demolished, to revenge the death of an impure 
Eecoleto Priest. 

"In eloquent contrast with what the natives had to expect, there has not been 
one single concession or reward for the credulous Pedro A. Paterno, a Filipino, the 
only real agent of the miracle of the Peace, to whom they have denied even the 
modest historical title ^Maguinong' (Don). 

"Add to all these infamies and indignities the removal of General Primo de 
Eivera, who, we repeat, was bound to remain in Manila during the three years of the 
armistice, and the nomination in his stead of another governor, General Augusti, 
who, completely without knowledge of the country, brought with him as his coun- 
sellor the unworthy Colonel Olive, the same who had proceeded with the utmost 
haste and greatest partiality and passion against the pretended chieftains, authors, 
protectors and followers of the sacred movement begun in August, 1896; who had, 
as military prosecutor for the ^Captain General,^ exacted with insolent cynicism, 
and with the knowledge and consent of his superior officers, considerable sums of 
money from those who wished to be absolved, in order to imprison them again when 
they did not comply with all his extortions; the same who, with shameless partiality 
worked and used his influence all he could towards the shooting of the immortal 
Tagalo martyr. Dr. Jose Eizal; the same finally, who, during the command of weak 
General Blanco and of bloodthirsty and base General Polariyi demanded continu- 
ally the imprisoning of the so-called ^Sons of the Country,' the descendants of the 
Europeans, that is, who had amongst us any importance by their learning, their in- 
dustry, their fortunes or their lineage, and who were not willing to bribe him so as to 
be left in liberty. 

"In view of this series of acts of faithlessness, of contempt, of insults, of crimes, 
and before all, the forgetting of the treaty, so recently as well as solemnly entered 
upon, those same who signed the treaty of Biyak na bato, have considered them- 
selves free of the obligation to remain abroad and of keeping any longer the promised 
armistice. 

"And, taking advantage of the Providential coming to the Philippines of tlic 
revenging squadron of the Great Eepublic of the United States of North America, 
they come back to their native soil proud and contented, to reconquer their liberty 
and their rights, counting on the aid and protection of the brave, decided, and noble 



^98 SPECIFICATIONS OF GEIEYAXCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 

Admiral Dewey, of the Anglo-Saxon squadron which has. succeeded in beating and 
destroying the forces of the tyrants who have been annihilating the personality and 
energy of our industrious j^eople, model of noble and glorious qualities. 

^'The moment has come, therefore, for the Filipinos to count themselves and to 
^nter into rank and file in order to defend with zeal and resolution and with a viril- 
ity of strong men, the soil that saw their birth as well as the honor of their name, 
making publicly and universally known their competence, ability and their civic, 
political and social virtues. 

"Let us. all fight united; seconding the revenging and humanitarian action of the 
North American Eepublic; and let us learn from her, accepting her counsels and 
her system, the way of living in order, peace and liberty, copying her institutions, 
which are the only adequate ones for the nations who wish to reconquer their per- 
sonality in history, in the period we are passing. 

"On going to battle, let us inscribe on our flag with clearness and accuracy the 
sacred legend of our aspirations. 

"We want a stable government, elected by the people themselves; the laws of 
^which are to be voted for by those same who have to keep them faithfully, con- 
serving or modifying their present institutions in the natural times in the life of na- 
tions, but modehng them and taking us their own, the democratic ones of the 
-United States of North America. 

"We want the country to vote its taxes; those necessary for public services and 
'to satisfy (pay in full) the assistance North America and the corporations, organi- 
zations and individuals who help us to rise out of our lethargic state, are rendering 
ns; taking care at the same time to abolish all those which have for basis a social vice 
or an immoral action, like the lottery, the tax on gambling dens, on galleras (arenas 
;ior fights of gamej cocks) and the farming out of the sale of opium. But before all, 
■:inay there nevermore appear again that repugnant tax levied on Pederasty, which, to 
get two thousand pesos offended the universal conscience and the chaste name of 
■'Chinese Comedies.' 

"We want plainest liberty in all its bearings, including that of ideas, association 
and the press, without arriving at lawlessness and disorder; just as it is established in 
'that great, so well regulated Eepublic. 

"We want to see the religion of the natives and of chose that come to this country 
r-i^igorously respected by the public powers and by the individuals in particular. 

"We want Christianism, the basis of present civilization, to be the emblem and 
-.^solid foundation of our religious institutions, without force or compulsion; that 



SPECIFICATIONS OF GRIEVANCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 299 

the native clergy of the country be that which direct and teach the natives in all 
the degrees of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. 

•*lVe want the maintenance of this clergy to be effected as the different regional 
governments may see fit, or, as the city councils or popular elective institutions estab- 
lished in every locality may determine. 

""We want personal property to be absolutely and unconditionally respected; and, 
as a consequence, the recognition to the land holder of the property he cultivates and 
has improved by his labor, of the so-called Haciendas of the religious orders, who 
hav^e usurped them and robbed them by the perverse acts of the confessionary, be- 
guiling the fanaticism of ignorant women and or more than timid aged man, afraid 
of the vengeance the priests in their innate wickedness might meditate against their 
families, who extorted from them dues at the last moments of their existence den3'ing 
them spiritual aid and divine rewards without the cession of their material inter- 
ests before departing from this earth. 

"AYe want the possessions of these land holders to be respected without their being 
obliged to pay any canon, lease or tax whatsoever of religious character, depressive or 
unjust, ceasing thus their detainment, anti-juridicial and anti-social, on the part of 
monarchial orders, rapacious orders whom, on the strength of their being a ^nec- 
essary evil,' the ignorant functionaries of Spanish administration, like themselves 
insatiable extortioners, have been aiding, in disdain of right, reason and equity. 

"We want in order to consolidate the propert}', the ominous ^Inspection de 
Montes,' to disappear and cease in its actual functions, as a disorganizing and fiscal- 
izing center of the titles of property of the natives, which on pretense of investigating 
and discovering the detainment of State lands, had the custom of declaring the 
property of the State or of others, such as was already cultivated and producing 
by the improvements made by the- poor peasant, awarding such to their friends 
or to those who bribe them if the legitimate proprietor refused to give them, in 
shameless auction, what they asked for as a remuneration for what they called 'shut- 
ting their eyes,' as has happened lateh', amongst other scandalous cases, in Mindoro, 
when staking out the limits of the new Hacienda adjudged there to the Recoleto 
Priests. 

"We want public administration to be founded and to act on a basis of morality, 
economy and competence, in the charge of natives of the country or of such others 
v>ho by their experience and learning can serve us as guides and teach us the basis 
and the system of those countries who have their economical, political and adminis- 
trative offices and proceedings simplified and well organized. 



300 SPECIFICATIONS OF GEIEVANCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 

"We want the recognition of all the substantive rights of the human personality; 
guaranteed by judicial power, cemented in the principles in force in all the cultured 
nations; that the judicial authorities, when applying the laws, be penetrated by 
and identified with the spirit and the necessities of the locality; that the administra- 
tion of justice be developed by simple, economical and decisive proceedings; and that 
judges and magistrates have their attributions limited by the functions of a jury 
and by verbal and public judgment, making thus disappear the actual state cf 
affairs, of which prevarication and crooked dealings are the natural and necessary 
mark. 

"We want sensible codes, adapted to our manner of being without differentiation 
of races and without odious privileges contrary to the principle of equality before the 
law. 

"We want the increase and protection of our industries by means of subventions 
and of local and transient privileges without putting barriers to the general ex- 
change of produce and of mercantile transactions with all the nations of the globe 
without exception. 

"We want liberty of banking business, liberty of mercantile and industrial socie- 
ties and companies, commercial liberty, and that the Philippines cease to be shut 
up amongst the walls of its convents, to become again the universal market, like that 
of Hongkong, that of Singapore, that of the Straits, that of Borneo, that of the Mo- 
luccas, and that of some of the autonomous colonic^ of Australia, countries 
which surround us; and that capital may with confidence develop all the elements 
of wealth of this privileged soil, without more duties or charges on import and 
export than those the circumstances of each epoch may require for determined 
purposes. 

"We want roads, canals and ports, the dredging, of our rivers and other waterways, 
railroads, tramways and all the means of locomotion and transport, on water and 
earth, with such help and assistance as may be needed to carry them out within 
a certain time and develop them conveniently. 

"We want the suppression of the so-called ^Guardia Civil,' this pretorian and 
odious institution in whose mahgnment and inhuman meshes so many Phihppine mar- 
tyrs have suffered and expired; that center of tortures and iniquities, those contempti- 
ble flatterers of small tyrants and of the concupiscense of the priests, those in- 
satiable extortioners of the poor native; those hardened criminals animated con- 
stantly in their perverseness by the impunity with which their accomplices, the 
representatives of despotism and official immorality, covered them. 



SPECIFICATIONS OF GEIEVAXCES OF THE FILIPIXOS. 301 

"In their stead we want a judicial and gubernatorial police, which is to watch 
over and oblige the fulfillment of existing laws and regulations without tortures 
and abuses. 

"We want a local army, composed of native volunteers, strictly limited to what 
order and natural defense demands. 

"We want a public instruction less levitical and more extensive in what refers 
to natural and positive sciences; so that it may be fitted to industrate woman as well 
as man in the establishment and development of the industries and wealth of the 
country, marine and terrestrial mining, forestal and industrial of all kmds, an 
instruction which is to be free of expenses in all its degrees and obligatory in its 
primary portion, leaving and applying to this object all such property as is destined 
to-day to supply the sustainment of the same; taking charge of the administration of 
such property a Council of Public Instruction, not leaving for one moment longer 
in the hands of religious institutions, since these teach only prejudice and fanati- 
cism, proclaiming, as did not long since a rector of the university of Manila, that 
Vicdicine and physical sciences are materialistic and impious studies,' and another, 
that Apolitical economy was the science of the devil.' 

"We want to develop this public instruction, to have primary schools, normal schools, 
institutes of second degree, professional schools, universities, museums, public libraries, 
meteorological observatories, agricultural schools, geological and botanical gardens and 
a general practical and theoretical system of teaching agriculture, arts and handicraft 
and commerce. All this exists already in the country, but badly organized and dis- 
persed, costing the contributors a good deal without practical results, which might 
have been expected, by the incompetency of the teachers and the favoritism em- 
joloyed in their nominations and remunerations. 

"We want laws for hunting and fishing, and teaching and regular vigilance for the 
faithful carrying on of pisciculture, well-known already to the natives, for tiie ad- 
vantageous disposing of their marine products, such as conch shell, mother of pearl, 
pearls, bichi de mer, ray skins, fish lime, etc., and for the raising of all kinds of 
animals useful for agricultural and industrial purposes and as victuals for the natives 
and for export. 

"We want liberty of immigration and assistance for foreign settlers and capital- 
ists, with such restrictions only, wlien there be an opportunity, as limit actually 
Chinese immigration, similar to legislature 'on this point in North America and 
Australia. 

"We want, finally, anything that be just, equitable and orderly: all that may be 



a02 SPECIFICATIONS OF GEIEVANCES OF THE FILIPIXOS. 

basis for development, prosperity and well being; all that may be a propelling ele- 
ment of morality, A'irtue and respect to the mutual rights of all the inhabitants^ 
in their minor relations and in those with the foreio'ner. 

o 

"Do not believe that the American nation is unbelieving or fanatically protestant,. 

that it take to the scaffold or to the fire those who do not believe determined 

principles and practice special religious creeds; within that admirable organization^ 

masterly and living model of perfection for the old nations of Europe and x\sia. 

. lives and prospers the Eoman Catholic Church. 

"There are some seven million inhabitants who profess that religion directed by 
natural clergy with their proper ministers, taken from that fold of Christ. 

"'Then there are bishops, archbishops, cardinals of the Eoman Church, American, 
subjects, beloved faithful of the Pope Leo XIII. 

"There then is a Temporal Apostolical Delegate representative of the legitimate 
successor of St. Peter; there are parsons, canons, dignitaries and provisors, who live 
and teach in order peace and prosperity, respected by one and all, as you yourselves 
will be the day the American flag will influence in the spiritual direction of the 
Philippine people. 

"Then there are cathedrals, parish churches, temples and chapels, sumptuous and^ 
admired, where they adore the same God of the Sinai and Golgotha, where severs, 
and ostensive cult is rendered to Immaculate Virgin Mary and to the Saints you have- 
on your altars and none dare to destro}', attack or prostitute them. 

"There then are seminaries, convents, missions, fraternities, schools, everything: 
Cathohc, richly furnished, well kept up and perfectly managed to the glory of the 
religion. 

"There resides His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, a wise Eoman Catholic prelate, 
American citizen, who recently and on occasion of the present war, has ordered, with 
consent of His Sanctity, that all the catholic clergy of the Anierican nation raise 
daily prayers to the Most High to obtain the triumph of the arms of their country,, 
for the good of religion and humanity, which cause, in the present conflict legiti- 
mately and unquestionably represents that government. 

"And just as Christ, to be Messiah, had to be according to the prophecies, Jew 
and of the Tribe of Judah, that is: By right of his political fatherland, as by that of 
his native soil, of the chosen people, thus* amongst you who ever wants to be a clergy- 
man or merit being canon, dignitary, provisor, bishop, archbishop and cardinal^ 
musi as an indispensable condition, have been born on your proper soil, as is occur- 



SPECIFICATIOXS OF GEIEYAXCES OF THE FILIPIXOS. 30a 

ring absolute!}^ in all the civilized nations of the old and new world, with the only 
exception of the Phili|)pines. 

"There may be priests, religions congregations, nuns and convents, but sub- 
missive to the laws of the country and obliged to admit in their bosom as formerly 
happened in these isles, as estimable and superior members of such institutions, those 
feel a vocation for a conventual life, as the noble and generous people of Xorth 
America will demand, and will, do not doubt it, recognize these your legitimate rights. 

FILIPIXOS AXD COUXTEYMEX. 

"The protection of the great American Eepublic will make you respected and con- 
sidered before the cultured powers, legitimately constituted; and your personality 
will be proclaimed and sanctioned everywhere. 

"We have the duty to exact the rights we have just proclaimed and the ^natives' 
in all the isles and in all their different races, as well as the 'Mestizo Sangley,' as 
the 'Mestizo EspanoV and the 'Son of the Country,' we all have the honorable 
duty of defending ourselves against the whip and the contempt of the Spaniards, ac- 
cepting the protection and direction of the humane Xorth xlmerican nation. 

YIYA FILIPINOS 

Hurrah for liberty and right. 

Hurrah for the Grand Eepublic of the United States of Xorth America. 

Hurrah for President McKinley and Eear Admiral Dewey. 

THE JEXTA PATEIOTICA. 

"Hongkong, April, 1898." 

Under the authority of the United States there have been inquiries by a court into 
the causes of the imprisonment of the inmates of the penitentiary and common jail 
at Manila, and others who have suffered from the enmities of the members of the gov- 
ernment that ceased when the Spanish flag was taken down and the American flag 
raised. The memoranda following were made in the court proceedings, and state 
the facts as judicially established. 

FULGEXCIA TUAZOX. 

This lady was confined in Bilibid seven years ago (though the record shows July 
11, 1898,) by order of the Governor-General, on a charge of selling counterfeit 
stamps. She was tried, and sentenced to six years' confinement; but the Judge ac- 
cepted a bribe of $900 and released her about a week after her trial. A year after- 



304 SPECIFICATION'S OF GEIEVAXCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 

wards she was again arrested by a new judge on the same charge^ and $3^000 was de- 
manded as the price of her liberty. This was refused, and imprisonment followed. 
She claims to have bought the stamps (which were telegraph stamps), from the 
Government. 

DOEOTEA ARTEAGA. 

Tliis young lad}^, who was a scliool teacher in her native province, Montinlupa, 
Manila province, was confined in Bihbid, August 8th, 1895, charged with "sacrilege 
and robber}'," and insurrection. She came to Malate to see about her license as a 
school teacher, and was arrested by the civil guard on the above charge. She claims 
her arrest was instigated by a priest who had made overtures to her to have carnal 
intercourse with him, and had attempted the same, and had been repulsed and re- 
fused. To cover up liis ill-doing he caused her arrest on the charge of having 
stolen part of the vessels used in the communion service of the Eoman Catholic 
church. She has never been married and the Alcalde says, "Her conduct in prison 
has been very good." 

SEXOEA MAXIMA GUEEEEEA. 

This woman was born in Santa Cruz, in 1838, and has been confined in Bilibid 
since 1890, though the record shows that she was imprisoned July 11, 1898, by order 
of the Governor-General. This date, however, is admitted to be an error by the 
Alcalde, without any explanation of the error. The record shows that she v\'as im- 
prisoned because she objected to the Government taking vrood off her property 
without paying for it. She claims that since her imprisonment, the Government 
has confiscated $40,000 v/orth of her property. 

^ FELIPE EEMEXTIXA, 

This prisoner was confined in the year 1889, when only 12 years old. At that 
time a revolution was in progress in the province in which he resided, and he was 
^'^captured" by the Spanish forces and sent to Bilibid Carcel. He did not know 
with what he was charged, and while he was tried, he never received any sentence. 

JOSE DAVID. 

"I was put in here June 13th, 1898. x\m a civilian and a ^Katipunan.' Was 
tried, but never sentenced." The foregoing is the testimony of the prisoner Jose 
David, and is quoted here as, an example of the testimony of some hundreds of 
others, v/hich is almost identical. Large numbers of the natives seem to be mem- 



SPECIFICATIONS OF GEIEVAXCES OF THE FILIPIXOS. 305 

bers of the "Katipunan" society, whicli appears to be a revolutionar}' brotherhood 
of some kind. They have been imprisoned for terms varying from one or two 
months to several years (in some cases ten or twelve years), upon the charge of be- 
longing to this society; in very many cases without trial, and in the majority with no 
sentence whatever, and, very largely, simply "on susupicion." 

AGAPITO CALIBUGAR. 

This man was arrested by the Civil Guard, in July, 1889, in his own house, and 
w^as tried but not sentenced, or rather did not know what his sentence was. He 
was told that his sentence was served out, but he could not be returned to his own 
province of Negros because the Governor had no ships available for that purpose. He 
had no idea why he was arrested and tried. There are several other cases similar 
to this one, in which the charge is "resisting armed forces" — most of which were 
tried by court martial, and never sentenced. 

GREGOEIO DOMIXGO. 

This prisoner was confined in Bilibid Carcel on the 25th of November, 1896, 
the entry on the prison record against his name being "no se espresa" — "no charge 
expressed." He was, of course, neither tried nor sentenced, but had been in prison 
almost two years, with absolutely no reason attempted to be made for his conflne- 
meut. This case is also cited as an example of many similar ones. 

JOSE TEABADO. 

This is the case of a man who was a member of the Katipunan society, but who 
was tried and sentenced'. He was imprisoned in Bilibid Carcel, May 5th, 1898, his 
sentence being confinement "cardena perpetua" — "in chains forever." He was one 
of five men who received the same sentence for a like offence. He, with the others, 
was set free August 31st, 1898. 

SILYIXO DE CASTEO. 

In this case the prisoner, who was formerly employed as a clerk in a grocery 
store, was imprisoned in B;libid Carcel on the 25th of December, 1S9T, charged 
with having stolen $4.50 (Spanish, which represents about $2.25 x-Vmerican). His 
story was that he was sent out to collect a bill, but lost the said bill, and was there- 
fore accused by his employer of stealing the money, and was imprisoned. He was 
tried, but never received anv sentence. 



306 SPECIFICATIOXS OF GEIEYAXCES OF THE FILIPINOS. 



DON FEENANDO SIEREA. 

The prisoner above named is a full-blooded Spaniard, tliirty-eiglit years of age^ 
married, and has one child, three months old. He was confined in Bilibid, May 28^ 
1893, for ''insulting'^ a civil gnard, while drunk, and was tried and sentenced to 
six years and sLx months imprisonment. He had already served over five years of this^ 
sentence, when he was released September 2nd, 1898. 

CEISTAN DEL CAEMEN. 

This man was confined in the Carcel De Bihbid, the "common prison," May 
4:th, 1898, and his offense was that he was "suspected of being an xlrneriean!" For 
this heinous crime he was neither tried nor sentenced. 

JULIAN SOEIANO. 

In this case the prisoner was confined in Bihbid, March 25th, 1895, after hav- 
ing been in prison one year in his province on suspicion of being implicated in the 
killing of a civil guard at a place colled Balauga. He was tried by a sergeant of the 
civil guard, who caused him to be tortured in order to wring a confession from him. 
This torture was infiicted by means of a thin rope or cord, tied very tightly around 
the muscles of the arm above the elbow (cutting into the flesh deeply), and left 
there in some instances for thirty days. In some cases the men were also hung up, 
the weight of the body being sustained by the cords around the arms. Several of 
the prisoners have deep scars on their arms caused by the torture. This man was. 
never sentenced. 

LEON BUENO. 

The charge against this man was that he had stolen a pig, and he was confined 
in Bilibid, March 21st, 1893, after being tried and sentenced to eight years' impris- 
onment. He had already served over five years when released Sept. 3, 1898. — 

JOSE CASTILLO. 

This man was confined in Bilibid Carcel, December 15th, 189J:, charged with 
"iusulling the armed forces of Spain." His version of the reason for his imprison- 
ment is as follows: His cousin and a lieutenant in the guardia civile were very 
close friends, and the said cousin, wishing to present a cow to the lieutenant, applied 
to the prisoner for one, which was given to him. Later on the cousin thought he 
would like to present his friend with another cow, so applied to the prisoner for 



SPEGIFICATIONS OF GRIEVANCES OF THE FILIFIXOS. 307 

-cow ISTo. 2, and was this time refused. Id order to take vengeance on the prisoner, 
the cousin denounced him to the civil guard lieutenant as a "bandit/' and he was 
arrested and imprisoned as above. The prisoner was sixty years of age. 

ANASTACIO DE MESA. 

The story of this prisoner seems to be particularly sad. He was a chorister or 
sacristan in a Roman Catholic church, with several others, and was arrested^ with 
his companions, by the civil guard, charged with "sacrilege." The truth of the 
matter, how^ever, seems to be as follows: The prisoner had a sweetheart with whom 
a lieutenant of the civil guard, named de Yega, appears to have been infatuated. 
After imprisoning Anastacio de Mesa and his companions upon the above charge, 
which seems to be without foundation entirely, de Vega took the girl, and com- 
pelled her by force and against her will to live with him as his mistress. The girl 
soon died, her end, no doubt, being hastened by the brutal cruelty of de Vega. 
These young men, hardly more than boys, were imprisoned on August 3, 1895, 
^fter having been tried by court martial, but not sentenced. They have now been 
liberated. It should be stated that de Vega himself constituted the "court martial" 
before which these boys were tried. 

Note. — There are several cases of arrests for "insulting and resisting the armed 
forces of Spain." In the case of Pedro Javier, the accused was over seventy years 
old, and in that of Miguel de la Gruz, he was seventy-five years old; while in one 
or two other cases boys of ten or twelve years of age w^ere arrested on the same charge. 



CHAPTEE XX. 

HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 

The Star Spangled Banner Up Again in Hawaii, and to Stay — Dimensions of the 
Islands — What the Missionaries Have Done — Eeligious Belief by Nation- 
ality — Trade Statistics — Latest Census — Sugar Plantation Laborers — Coinage 
of Silver — Schools — Coffee Growing. 

The star spangled banner should have been waving in peaceful triumph over our 
central possessions in the Pacific for five years. Now Old Glory has ascended the 
famous flag-stafl', from, which it was mistakenly withdrawn, and is at home, It.^ 
lustrous folds are w^elcomed by a city that is strangely American, in the sense that 
it is what the world largely calls "Yankee," and does not mean bad manners by 
the most expressive word that has so "vast a distinction. The shops of Honolulu 
are Americanized. There is a splendid blossoming of the flag of the country. The 
British parties of opposition have faded out. There is the wisdom in English 
statesmanship to be glad to see us with material interest in the Pacific Ocean. In 
this connection there is something better than a treaty. 

Do not mispronounce the name of the capital city of the Hawaiian Islands. Call 
it Hoo-noo-luu-luu and let it sing itself. Eemember that this city is not on the 
larger of the islands, but the third in size. The area of Hawaii, the greater island, 
is 4,210 square miles. Oahn, the Honolulu island, has 600 square miles, wdth a 
population of 40,205, and Hawaii has 33,285 people. The area of the islands, told 
m acres is, Hawaii, 2,000,000; Nani, 400,000; Oahu, 260,000; Kauai, 350,000; 
:^lalokai, 200,000; Lauai, 100,000; Nichan, 70,000; Kahloolawe, 30,000. Th^ 
dimensions of the tremendous volcanoes that are our property n_gw are startling: 

DIMENSIONS OF KILAUEA, ISLAND OF HAWAII. 

(The largest active Volcano in the Vforld.) 



Area, 4.14 square miles, or 2,650 acres. 
Circumference, 41,500 feet, or 7.85 miles 
Extreme width, 10,300 feet, or 1.95 miles. 
Extreme length, 15,500 feet, or 2.93 miles. 
Elevation, Volcano House, 1,040 feet, 

3^8 



•liAWAII AS ANNEXED. 3U9 

DIMENSIONS OE MOKUAWEOWEO. 
(The Summit Crater of Mauna Loa, Island of Hawaii.) 



Area, 3.70 square miles, or 2,370 acres. 
Girciimference, 50,000 feet, or 9.47 miles. 
Length, 19,500 feet, or 3.7 miles. 
Width, 9,200 feet, or 1.74 miles. 
Elevation, 13,675 feet. 



DIMENSIONS OF HALEAKALA. 

(The great Crater of Maui, the Largest in the World.) 



Area, 19 square miles, or 12,160 acres. 

Circumference, 105,600 feet, or 20 miles. 

Extreme length, 39,500 feet, or 7.48 miles. 

Extreme width, 12,500 feet, or 2.37 miles. 

Elevation of summit, 10,032 feet. 

Elevation of principal cones in crater, 8,032 and 7,572 feet. 

Elevation of cave in floor of crater, 7,380 feet. 



DIMENSIONS OE lAO VALLEY. MAUI. 



Length (from Wailuku) about 5 miles. 

Width of valley, 2 miles. 

Depth, near head, 4,000 feet. 

Elevation of Puu Kukui, above head of valle}^ 5,788 feet.' 

Elevation of Crater of Eke, above Waihee Valley, 4,500 feet. 



Honolulu's importance comes from the harbor, and the favor of the missionaries. 
As to the general judgment of the ^vork of the missionaries, ther^ is nothing better 
to do than to quote Mr. Eichard H. Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast." He 
said in that classic: 

"It is no small thing to say of the missionaries of the American Board, that in 
less than forty years they have taught this whole people to read and write, to cipher 
and to sew. They have given them an alphabet, grammar and distionary; pre- 
served their language from extinction; given it a literature and translated into it 
the Bible, and works of devotion, science and entertainment, etc. They Imve 
esiablished schools, reared up native teachers, and so pressed their work that now 



•310 liA'WAII AS ANNEXED. 

the proportion of inhabitants who can read and write is greater than in Xew England. 
And, whereas, tliey found these islanders a nation of half-naked savages, living in 
the surf and on the sand, eating raw fish, fighting among themselves, tyrannized 
over by feudal chiefs and abandoned to sensuality, they' now see them decently 
clothed, recognizing the law of marriage, knowing something of accounts, going to 
school and public worship more regularly than the people do at home, and the 
more elevated of them taking part in conducting the affairs of the constitutional 
monarchy under which they live, holding seats on the judicial bench and in the 
legislative chambers, and filling posts in the local magistracies." 

Take away the tropical vegetation and the gigantic scenery and we have here, in 
our new Pacific possessions, a new Connecticut. The stamp of New England is upon 
this lofty land, especially in Honolulu, where the spires of the churches testify. 
There is much that is of the deepest and broadest interest in the possible missionary 
work here, on account of the remarkable race questions presented. Here are the 
nations and the people of mixed blood — the Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese — a 
population immensely representative of Oriental Asia. The measure of success of 
the missionaries under our flag in dealing with these people can hardly fail to, be 
accepted by the world as a test of the practical results of the labor wdth the Asiatica. 
In this connection, the figures following, from the Hawaiian Annual of 1898, fur- 
Tiish a basis of solid information for study: 

TABLE OF EELIGIOUS BELIEF, BY NATIONALITY. 

(So Far as Reported in Census Eeturns, 1896.) 

Roman 

Nationalities. Protestants. Catholics. Mormons. 

Hawaiians.. 12.8-12 8,427 4,368 

Part Hawaiians 3,242 2,633 396 

Hawaiian born f oreio'ners. . . . 1,801 6,622 - 15 

Americans t 1,404 212 34 

British 1,184 180^ 7 

Germans 592 83 2 

French 6 57 

Norweaians 154 8 

Portugiiese 146 7,812 1 

Japanese 711 49 4 « 

Chinese 837 67 49 

South Sea Islanders 178 42 3 

Other nationalities 176 171 7 

Totals 23,2;3 26,363 4,886 

NOTE. — This table shows but 54,522 of the population (just about one- half) 
to have made returns of their religious bcdief. With 21,535 Japanese and 18,429 



w m 



SPANIARDS READY TO EXECUTE INSURGENT PRISONERS. 




AFTER AN EXECUTION— PROSTRATE FORMS ARE MEN SHOT. 



HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 



311 




312 



HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 



Cliinese (probably Buddhists and Confucians) unreported because not provided for 
in the schedules, the great difference is largely accounted for. 

The latest census returns show that of the whole population, 109,020, there are: 
Males, 72,517; females^ 36,503. The latest information of labor, under contract for 
sugar-making, make the number of males on the island more than double that of the 
females. There has been an increase of population of more than 50,000 in the 
eighteen years from 1878 to 1896. The census of the several islands, taken Septem- 
ber 27, 1896, shows: 



Population. 



Male. 



Oahu 26,164 

Hawaii 22,632 

Molokai 1,335 

Lanai 51 

Maui 11,435 

Niihau 76 

Kauai 10,824 

Totals ..72,517 



Female. 

14,041 

10,653 

972 

54 

6,291 

88 

4,404 



Total. 

40,205 

33,285 

2,307 

105 

17,726- 

164 

15,228 



Inhab- 
ited. 

6,685 

5,033 

651 

23 
3,156 

31 
2,320 



Dwellings. 

Unin- 
babi- 
ted. 



1,065 
955 

92 
13 

650 
3 

299 



Build- 
ing. 

60 

35 

3 

18 



Total. 
7,010 

6.027 
746 

36 
3,824 

34 
2,627 



36,503 109,020 17,099 3,081 124 21,104 



Hawaii's annual trade balance since 1879 is a notable record; 



Year. 

1880. 

1881 

1882. 

1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

1887. 

1888. 

1889 

1890. 

1891, 

1892. 

1893. 

1894 

1895. 

1896. 



Imports. 

^3,673.268.41 
4,547,978.64 
4,974,510.01 
5,624.240.09 
4,637,514.22 
3,830,544.58 
4,877,738.73 
4,943,840.72 
4,540.887.46 
5.438.790.63 
6,962,201.13 
7,438,582.65 
4,028.295.31 
4,363,177.58 
5,104,481.43 
5,714.017.54 
7,164,561.40 



Exports. 

$4,968,444.87 

6,885,436.56 

8,299.016.70 

8,133,343.88 

8,184,922.63 

9,158,818.01 

10,565,885.58 

9.707.047.33 

11,903,398.76 

14,039.941.40 

13,142,829.48 

10.395.788.27 

8,181.687.21 

10,962,598.09 

9,678,794.56 

8,474,138.15 

15,515,230.13 



Excess Export 
Values. 

$1,295,176.46 
2.337,457.92 
3.324,506.69 
2,509,103.79 
3.547.408.41 
5,328.2:3.43 
5,688.146.85 
4,763.206.61 
7,362,511.30 
8.601,150.77 
6.180.628.35 
2,957,205.f52 
4.153,391.90 
5,599,420.51 
4.574.313.13 
2,760.120.61 
8,350,668.73 



Custom House 
Keceipis. 

$402,181.63 
423,192.01 
505,390.98 
577,332.87 
551,739.59 
502.337.38 
580.444.04 
595.002.64 
546,142.63 
550.010.16 
695.956.91 
732,594,93 
494,385.10 
545.754.16 
524,767.37 
547.149.40 
656,895.82 



Tlie percentage of imports from the United States in 1896 was 76.27; Great 
Britain, 10.54; Germany, 2.06; France, .25; China,* 4.17; Japan, 3.86. In 189S 
tlie export of sugar was 294,784,819 pounds; value, $7,975,500.41. 



HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 



313 



NATIONALITY OF VESSELS EMPLOYED IN FOEEIGN CARRY- 
ING TRADE, 1889-1896. 



Nations. 


No. 


1689. 
Tons. 


No. 


1890. 
Tons. 


No. 


1891. 
Tons. 


No. 


1892. 

Tons. 


American . . , 


,,185 


125,196 


224 


153,098 


233 


169,472 


212 


160,042 


Hawaiian. . 


.. 44 


56,670 


35 


43,641 


21 


26,869 


11 


4.340 


British 


.. 22 


21,108 


16 


22,912 


33 


52.866 


30 


58,317 


German . . . , 


,. 5 


3,337 


9 


7,070 


9 


9,005 


5 


5,978 


Japanese. . , 


. 








5 


8,239 


3 


4,701 


All others. , 


.. 9 


12,268 


9 


9,98*6 


10 


8,401 


11 


8,201 



Total ... 269 218.579 293 236.701 



311 274.852 722 242.579 



BONDED DEBT, ETC., HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, JUNE 30, 1897. 

Per Cent. 



Under Loan Act of 1876 


(.i iC 




1882 


ii a 




1886 


C( C( 




1888 


a a 




1890 


a a 




1892 


(( cc 




1893 


u a 




1896 



7 $ 1,500.00 

6 67,400.00 

6 2,000,000.00 

6 190,000.00 

5 and 6 124,100.00 

5 and 6 82.100.00 

6 650^000.00 

5 222,000.00 



3,337,100.00 
Due Postal Savings Bank Depositors : 782,074.25 



Total $4,119,174.25 

NUMBER AND NATIONALITY OF SUGAR PLANTA- 
TION LABORERS. 

(Compiled from latest Report of Secretary Bureau of Immigration, December 
31, 1897.) 

Hawaii- 
Islands, ans. 

Hawaii 594 

Mauai 580 

Oahu 197 

Kauai 244 



Portu- 


Japan- 




S. S. 


All 




guese. 


ese. 


Chinese. 


Isl'ders. 


Others. 


Total. 


980 


6.245 


2,511 


.24 


232 


10,586 


526 


2.010 


1,114 


45 


110 


4.385 


211 


1,331 


973 


16 


55 


2,783 


551 


3,307 


1,691 


30 


203 


6.026 



Total, 1896 
Total, 1895 



.1,615 

.1,584 



2,268 12,893 



2,497 



11,584 



1,309 



6,289 
3,847 

2,442 



115 
133 



600 
473 

127 



23.780 
20,120 

3,660 



Increase, 1896 31 . .'. . 

Decrease, 1899 231 18 

The number of day laborers, 11,917, or a little over one-half of the total force 

engaged. The Japanese and South Sea Islanders are about evenly divided in their 

numbers as to term and day service, while Hcwvaiians and Portuguese show each but 



314 HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 

a small proportion of their numbers nnder contract. Minors are reducing in num- 
ber. Women laborers, numbering 1,024 in all, show a gain of 89 over 1875. Only 
thirty Hawaiian females are engaged among all the plantations, and confined to one 
plantation each in Oahu, Kauai and Maui. 

The Hwaiian Annual of 1898 makes this annotation: 

During the year various changes have occurred in the labor population of the 
country, and under the working of the present law, requiring a proportion of other 
than Asiatic of all immigrant labor introduced, there has already arrived one company 
of Germans, comprisingg 115 men, 25 women and 47 children, all of whom found 
ready engagements with various plantations. 

Chinese arirvals in 1897 to take the place of Japanese whose terms were expiring, 
will alter the proportions of these nationalitis of plantation labor, and by the new 
law Asiatic laborers must return to' their country at the expiration of their term of 
service, or re-engage; they cannot drift around the country, nor engage in competi- 
tion with artizans or merchants. 

The islands comprising the Hawaiian territory are Hawaii, Mauai, Oaha, Kauai, 
Molokai, Lauai, Niihau, Kahaalawe, Lehua and Molokini, "The Leper Prison," and, 
in addition, Nihoa, or Bird Island, was taken possession of in 1822; an expedition for 
that purpose having been fitted out by direction of Kaahumanu, and sent thither 
under the charge of Captain William Sumner. 

Laysan Island became Hawaiian territory May 1st, 1857, and on the 10th of the 
same month Lysiansky Island was added to Kamehameha's realm by Captain 
John Paty. 

Palmyra Island was taken possession of by Captain Zenas Bent, April 15th, 
1862, and proclaimed Hawaiian territory in the reign of Kamehameha lY., as per 
^'By Authority" notice in the 'Tolynesian" of June 21st, 1862. 

Ocean Island was acquired September 20th, 1886, as per proclamation of Colonel 
J. H. Boyd, empowered for such service during the reign of Kalakaua. 

Necker Island was taken possession of May 27th, 1894, by Captain James A. 
King, on behalf of the Hawaiian Government. 

French Frigate Shoal was the latest acquisition, also by Captain King, and pro- 
claimed Hawaiian territory July 13th, 1895. 

Gardener Island, Mara or Moro Eeef, Pearl and Hermes Eeef, Gambia Bank, and 
Johnston or Cornwallis Island are also claimed as Hawaiian possessions, but there 
is some obscurity as to the dates of acquisition, and it is of record in the Foreign 
Office articles of convention between Hon. Charles St. Julien, the Commissioner 
and Political and Commercial Agent of His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian 



HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 31S 

Islands, and John Webster, Esq., the Sovereign Chief and Proprietor of the group 
of islands known as Stewart's Islands (situated near the Solomon Group), whereby is 
ceded to the Hawaiian Government — subject to ratification by the King — the islands 
of Ihikaiana, Te Parena, Taore, Matua Awi and Matua Ivoto, comprising said group 
of Stewart's Islands. But the formalities do not seem to have been perfected, so 
that we are not certain that the Stewart's Islands are our possessions. The latest 
thorough census of the Hawaiian Islands was taken in September, 1896, but the 
population was closely estimated July 1st, 1897. 

Japan- Portu- All Other 
Native.:. Chinese. ese. guese. Foreigners. Total 
Population as per Census, 

September, 1896 39,504 21,616 21,407 15,191 8,302 109,020 

Passengers — Arrivals — 
Excess over departures, 

4th quarter, 1896 1,377 1,673 339 3,389 

Excess over departures, 

6 mos. to July 1, 1897 2,908 396 58 207 3,569 

Total 39,504 25,901 26,476 15,249 8,848 115,978 



The following denominations of Hawaiian silver were coined during the reio-n 
of Kalakaua, at the San Francisco mint, and imported for the circulatino- medium 
of the islands in 1883 and 1884. They are of the same intrinsic value as the 
United States silver coins and were first introduced into circulation January 14th, 
at the opening of the bank of Claus Spreckles & Co. in Honolulu. The amount 
coined was $1,000,000, divided as follows: 

Hawaiian Dollars $ 500,000 

Half Dollars 350,000 

" Quarter Dollars 125,000 

" Dimes '. 25,000 

Total $1,000,000 



SCHOOLS, TEACHEES AND PUPILS FOK THE YEAR 1896. 

—Pupils.— 
Male. Female. 

Government 132 111 169 280 5,754 4,435 

Independent 63 72 130 202 1,994 1,840 





— Teachers.- 





Schools. 


Male. Female. 


Total. 


132 


Ill 169 


280 


63 


72 130 


202 



195 183 299 482 7,748 6,275 



^16 HAWAII AS ANISTEXED. 

NATIONALITY OF PUPILS ATTENDING SCHOOLS FOR THE 

YEAR 1896. 

Nationality. Male. Female. 

Hawaiian 3,048 2,432 

Part-Hawaiian ..... 1,152 1,296 

American , 219 198 

British 105 151 

German 152 136 

Portuguese 2,066 1,534 

Scandinavian „ 51 47 

Japanese 242 155 

Chinese 641 280 

South Sea Islanders 15 13 

Other foreigners 57 33 

7,748 6,275 

Of the Japanese, 8.5 per cent, were born on the islands; of the Chinese, per- 
centage born here, 10.3. Of a total of 41,711 Japanese and Chinese, 36,121 are 
males and 5,590 females. The figures show that the Asiatics are not at home. 

The sugar industry in our new possessions has had great prominence agricultur- 
ally. The sugar interest of these islands has had a formidable influence in the United 
States. Recent events and the ascertained certainties of the future show that the peo- 
ple of the United States will soon raise their sugar supply on their own territory. The 
annexation of these sugar islands was antagonized because there was involved the 
labor contract system. As a matter of course, the United States will not change 
the labor laws of the nation to suit the sugar planters of Hawaii, who have been ob- 
taining cheap labor through a system of Asiatic servitude. There is but one solu- 
tion — labor will be better compensated in Hawaii than it has been, and yet white 
men will not be largely employed in the cultivation of sugar cane in our tropical 
islands. The beet sugar industry is another matter. There will be an end of the 
peculiar institution that has had strength in our new possessions, that brings, under 
contract, to Hawaii a mass of forty thousand Chinese and Japanese men, and turns 
over the majority of them to the plantations, whose profits have displayed an un- 
w^holesome aggrandizement. Once it was said cotton could not be grown in the 
■cotton belt of our country without slave labor, but the latter trouble is, the cotton 
producers claim, there is too much of their product raised. A ten-million bale 
'Crop depresses the market. Already experiments have been tried successfully to 
pay labor in the sugar fields by the tons of cane delivered at the mills for grinding. 
^This is an incident full of auspicious significance. A general feeling is expressed in 



100,000 trs. 

4,669 trs. 

23,000 trs. 

8,500 trs. 


30,000 trs. 

2,641 trs. 

36,000 trs; 





HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 317 

the current saying that coffee raising is "the coming industry." The confulence 
that there is prosperity in coffee amounts to enthusiasm. Here are some of the sta- 
tistics of coffee growers, showing number of trees and area, trees newly phmted and 
trees in bearing: 

NO. OF TREES OR AREA. 

Newly 1 to 3 year Trees 

Planted. old. in Bearing. 

J. C. Lenhart, Kaupo 2,000 trs. 4,000 trs 

Mokulau Coffee Co., Kaupo 2,000 trs. 10,000 trs. 2 acres. 

E. E. Paxton, Kaupo 5,000 trs. 7,000 trs 

Native Patches throughout Kaupo 10 acres. 

Lahaina Coffee and Fruit Co., Ltd., Lahaina . . . 10,000 trs. 

H. P. Baldwin, Honokahua 35,947 trs. 

Waianae Coffee Plantation Co., Waianae 7,500 trs. 

C. A. Wideman, Waianae 10,000 trs. 

Makaha Coffee Co., Ltd., Waianae ] 12 acres. 

Lanihau Plantation, Kailua 20,700 trs. 25,000 trs. 10,000 trs. 

Kona Coffee Co., Ltd., Kailua 35 acres, 

Geo. McDougal & Sons, Kailua 176 acres. 105 acres. 

H. C. Achi; Holualoa 10,000 trs. 

E. W. Barnard, Laupahoehoe 30,000 trs. 

J. M. Barnard, Laupahoehoe 5,000 trs 

John Gaspar, Napoopoo 33,000 trs. 16,000 trs. 

Manuel Sebastian, Kealakekua 8,000 trs, 

J. G. Henriqiies, Kealakekua 3,000 trs. 

C. Hooper, Kauleoli 2 acres. 12 acres. 

J. Keanu, Keei 5 acres. ' 10 acres. 16 acres. 

A. S. Cleghorn 3 acres 100 acres. 

Mrs. E.C. Greenwell 8 acres. 25 acres. 

J. M. Monsarrat, Kolo , 38 acres. 40 acres. 

Queen Emma Plantation 25,000 trs. 

L. M. Staples Plantation 25,000 trs. 12,000 trs. 

Olaa Coffee Co., Ltd 50 acres. 90 acres 

Grossman Bros 100 acres. 30 acres 

B. H. Brown , 2,260 trs. 2,000 trs. 3,225 trs. 

Herman Eldart 40,000 trs. 20,000 trs. 7,000 trs. 

The list of coffee growers is very long. That which is of greater interest is 
the showing made of the immense number of new trees. The coffee movement stead- 
ily gains force and the pace of progress is accelerated. 

Ever3'body has not been pleased with annexation. The Japanese are not in a 
good humor about it. The minister of Japan got his orders evidently to leave for 
Japan when the news arrived that the question had been settled in Washington, and 
he left for Yokohama by the boat that brought the intelligence. Japanese journals 
of importance raise the question as to the propriety of our establishing a coal sta- 
tion here. There is some dissatisfaction among the Hawaiians, who are bewildered. 



318 HAWAII AS ANNEXED. 

They are children who beheve stories in proportion as they are queer. Many of 
them feel that they have a grievance. The young princess who is the representative 
of the extinguished monarchy is affable and respected. If the question as to giv- 
ing her substantial recognition were left to the Americans here, they would vote 
for her by a large majority. It w^ould not be bad policy for the government to be 
generous toward her. She is not in the same boat with the ex-Queen. The Ameri- 
cans who have been steadfast in uiDholding the policy that at last has prevailed are 
happy, but not wildly so, just happy. ISTow^ that they have gained their cause, their 
unity will be shaken by discussions on public questions and personal preferments. 

There should be no delay in understanding that in this Archipelago the race 
questions forbid mankind suffrage, and that our new possessions are not to become 
states at once, or hurriedly; that it will take generations of assimilation to prepare 
the Hawaiian Islands for statehood. 

The objection to the climate of the marvelous islands of which we have be- 
come possessed is its almost changeless character. There is no serious variation 
in the temperature. There is a little more rain in "winter" than in "summer.'^ 
There is neither spring nor fall. The trade winds afford a slight variety, and this- 
seems to be manipulated by the mountains, that break up the otherwise unsparing 
monotony of serene loveliness. The elevations of the craters, and the jagged 
peak? are from one thousand to thirteen thousand feet. If you want a change of 
climate, climb for cold, and escape the mosquitos, the pests of this paradise. There- 
are a score of kinds of palms; the royal, the date, the cocoanut, are of them. The 
bread fruit and banana are in competition. The vegetation is voluptuous and the 
scenery stupendous. There is a constellation of islands, and they differ like the 
stars in their glories and like human beings in their difficulties. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

Captain James Cook's Great Discoveries and His Martyrdom — Character and Tra- 
ditions of the Hawaiian Islands — Charges Against the Famous Navigator, and 
effort to Array the Christian World Against Him — The True Story of His 
Life and Death — How Charges Against Cook Came to Be Made — Testimony 
of Vancouver, King and Dixon, and Last Words of Cook's Journal — Light 
Turned on History That Has Become Obscure — Savagery of the Natives — 
Their Written Language Took Up Their High Colored Traditions, and Pre- 
served Phantoms — Scenes in Aboriginal Theatricals — Problem of Govern- 
ment in an Archipelago Where Race Questions Are Predominant — Now 
Americans Should Remember Captain Cook as an Illustrious Pioneer. 

Regarding the islands in the Pacific that we have for a long time largely occu- 
pied and recently wholly possessed, the Hawaiian cluster that are the stepping 
stone, the resting place and the coal station for the golden group more than a thou- 
sand leagues beyond, we should remember Captain Cook as one of our own Western 
pioneers, rejoice to read his true story, and in doing so to form a correct estimate 
of the people who have drifted into the area of our Protection, or territory that is 
inalienably our own, to be thoroughly Americanized, that they may some day be 
worthy to become our fellow^itizens. 

Sunday, January 18th, 1778, Captain Cook, after seeing birds every day, and 
turtles, saw two islands, and the next day a third one, and canoes put off from the 
shore of the second island, the people speaking the language of Otaheite. i^s the 
Englishmen proceeded, other canoes appeared, bringing with them roasted pigs and 
very fine potatoes. The Captain says: ^^Several small pigs were purchased for 
a six-penny nail, so that we again found ourselves in a land of plenty. The natives 
were gentle and polite, asking whether they might sit down, whether they might 
spit on the deck, and the like. An order restricting the men going ashore was 
issued that I might do everything in my power to prevent the importation of a 
fatal disease into the island, which I knew some of our men now labored under." 
Female visitors were ordered to be excluded from the ships. Captain Cook's journal 
is very explicit, and he states the particulars of the failure of his precautions. This 
is a subject that has been much discussed, and there is still animosity in the con- 
troversy. The discovery of the islands that he called the Sandwich, after his patron 
the Earl of Sandwich, happened in the midst of our Revolutionary war. After 

319 



.320 EARLY HISTOEY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

€ook's explorations for the time^ he sailed in search of the supposed Northwest pass- 
age, and that enterprise appearing hopeless, returned to the summer islands, and 
met his fate in the following December. Captain George Vancouver, a friend and 
follower of Cook, says, in his ^^Yoyage of Discovery and Around the World/' from 
1790 to 1795: 

"It should seem that the reign of George the Third had been reserved by the 
Great Disposer of all things for the glorious task of establishing the grand key- 
stone to that expansive arch over which the arts and sciences should pass to the 
furthermost corners of the earth, for the instruction and happiness of the most lowly 
children of nature. Advantages so highly beneficial to the untutored parts of the 
human race, and so extremely important to that large proportion of the subjects of 
this empire who are brought up to the sea service deserve to be justly appreciated; 
and it becomes of very little importance to the bulk of our society, whose enlightened 
huijianity teaches them to entertain a lively regard for the welfare find interest 
of those who engage in such adventurous undertakings for the advancement of 
science, or for the extension of commerce, what may be the animadversions or sar- 
casms of those few unenlightened minds that may peevishly demand, "what bene- 
ficial consequences, if any, have followed, or are likely to follow to the discoverers, 
or to the discovered, to the common interests of humanity, or to the increase of 
useful knowledge, from all our boasted attempts to explore the distant recesses of the 
globe?" The learned editor (Dr. Douglas, now Bishop of Salisbury) who has so 
justly anticipated this injudicious remark, has, in his very comprehensive introduc- 
tion to Captain Cook's last voyage, from whence the above quotation is extracted, 
given to the public not only a complete and satisfactory answer to that question, but 
has treated every other part of the subject of discovery so ably as to render any further 
observations on former voyages of this description wholly unnecessary, for the 
purpose of bringing the reader acquainted with what had been accomplished, pre- 
viously to my being honored with His Majesty's commands to follow up the labors 
of that Illustrious navigator Captain James Cook; to whose steady, uniform, inde- 
fatigable and undiverted attention to the several objects on which the success of his 
enterprises ultimately depended, the world is indebted for such eminent and im- 
portant benefits." 

Captain George Vancouver pays, in the introduction of his reports, a remark- 
able tribute to Captain Cook, that should become famihar to the American people, 
for it is one of the features of prevalent Hawaiian literature that the great navigator 
is much disparaged, and denounced. One of the favorite theories of the missionaries 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 321 

'has been that Cook's death at the hands of the savages was substantially the pun- 
ishment inflicted by God, because the Captain allowed himself to be celebrated and 
worshipped as a god by the heathen, consenting to their idolatry when he should 
have preached to them, as was done with so much efficiency nearly half a century 
later. The fact is the natives had a great deal of ^^religion" of their own, and 
defended their superstitions with skill and persistence before yielding to the great 
simplicities of the Christian faith. Captain Cook, it must be admitted, did not 
attempt to preach the gospel. The gentleness of tlie natives turned out to con- 
tain a great deal that was most horrible. 

The closing years of the last century were those of rapid progress in the art of 
navigation, and Captain Vancouver gives this striking summary of testimony: 

"By the introduction of nautical astronomy into marine education, we are taught 
to sail on the hypothenuse, instead of traversing two sides of a triangle, which was 
the usage in earlier times; by this means the circuitous course of all voyages from 
place to place is considerably shortened; and it is now become evident that sea 
officers of the most common rate abilities who will take the trouble of making 
themselves acquainted with the principles of this science, will, on all suitable occa- 
sinos, with proper and correct instruments, be enabled to accjuire a knowledge of 
their situation in the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific Oceans, with a degree of accuracy 
sufficient to steer on a meridianal or diagonal line, to any known spot, provided it 
be sufficiently conspicuous to be visible at any distance from five to ten leagues. 

"This great improvement, by which the most remote parts of the terrestrial 
globe are brought so sasily within our reach, would nevertheless have been of com- 
paratively little utility had not those happy means been discovered for preserving the 
lives and health of the officers and seamen engaged in such distant and perilous 
undertakings; which were so peacefully practiced by Captain Cook, the first great 
discoverer of this salutary system, in all his latter voyages around the globe. But 
in none have the effect of his wise regulations, regimen and discipline been more 
manifest than in the course of the expedition of which the following pages are 
designed to treat. To an unremitting attention, not only to food, cleanliness, ven- 
tilation, and an early administration of antiseptic provisions and medicines, but 
also to prevent as much as possible the chance of indisposition, by prohibiting indi- 
viduals from carelessly exposing themselves to the influence of climate, or unhealthy 
indulgences in times of relaxation, and by relieving them from fatigue and the 
inclemency of the weather the moment the nature of their duty would permit them 
to retire, is to be ascribed the preservation of the health and lives of sea-faring peo- 
ple on long voyages." 



322 EARLY HISTOEY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANLS. 

'''Those benefits did not long remain unnoticed by tlie commercial part of the 
British nation. Eemote and distant vo^^ages being now no longer objects of terror, 
enterprises were projected and carried into execution, for the purpose of establishing 
new and lucrative branches of commerce between Northwest America and China; 
and parts of the coast of the former that had not been minutely examined by Cap- 
tain Cook became now the general resort of the persons thus engaged." 

The special zeal and consistency with which Cook is defended by the English 
navigators who knew him and were competent to judge of the scope of his achieve- 
ments is due in part to the venom of his assailants. The historian of the Sandwich 
Islands, Sheldon Dibble, says: "An impression of wonder and dread having been 
made. Captain Cook and his men found little difficulty in having such intercourse 
with the people as they chose. In regard to that intercourse, it was marked, as the 
world would say, with kindness and humanity. But it cannot be concealed that here 
and there at this time, in the form of loathsome disease, was dug the grave of the 
Hawaiian nation; and from so deep an odium it is to be regretted that faithful his- 
tory cannot exempt even the fair name of Captain Cook himself, since it was evident 
that he gave countenance to the evil. The native female first presented to him was 
a person of some rank; her name was Lelemahoalani. Sin and death were the 
first commodities imported to the Sandwich Islands." 

We have already quoted Captain Cook's first words on this subject. He had much 
more to say giving in detail difficulties rather too searching to be fully stated. As for 
the charge that Cook personally engaged in debauchery, it rests upon the tradition 
of savages, who had no more idea than wild animals of the restraint of human pas- 
sion. It was debated among the islanders whether the white men should be as- 
sailed by the warriors, and it was on the advice of a native queen that the women 
were sent to make friends with the strangers; and this was the policy pursued. As 
for the decline of the natives in numbers, and the "digging the grave of the na- 
tion," the horror of the islands was the destruction of female infants, and also the 
habit of putting aged and helpless men and women to death. The general indict- 
ment against Captain Cook is that this amiable race was just about prepared for 
Christianity when he thrust himself forward as a god, and with his despotic licen- 
tiousness destroyed immediate possibilities of progress. In Sandwich Island notes 
by "a Haole" (that is to say, a white person) we see what may be said on the other 
side of the picture: "It becomes an interesting duty to examine their social, po- 
litical and religious condition. The first feature that calls the attention to the 
past is their social condition, and a darker picture can hardly be presented to the 
contemplation of man. They had their frequent boxing matches on a public arena. 



EAKLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 323 

and it was nothing uncommon to see thirty or forty left dead on the field of con- 
test. 

"As gamblers they were inveterate. The game was indulged in by every 2:>er- 
son, from the king of each island to the meanest of his subjects. The wager ac- 
companied every scene of public amusement. They gambled away their property to 
the last vestige of all they possessed. They staked every article of food, their grow- 
ing crops, the clothes they wore, their lands, wives, daughters, and even the very 
bones of their arms and legs — to be made into fishhooks after they were dead. 
These steps led to the most absolute and crushing poverty. 

"They had their dances, which were of such a character as not to be conceived 
by a civilized mind, and were accompanied by scenes which would have disgraced 
even Nero's revels. Nearly every night, with the gathering darkness, crowds would 
retire to some favorite spot, where, amid every species of sensual indulgence they 
would revel until the morning twilight. At such times the chiefs would lay aside 
their authority, and mingle with the lowest courtesan in every degree of debauchery. 

"Thefts, robberies, murders, infanticide, licentiousness of the most debased and 
debasing character, burying their infirm and aged parents alive, desertion of the 
sick, revolting cruelties to the unfortunate maniac, cannibalism and drunkenness, 
form a list of some of the traits in social life among the Hawaiians in past days. 

"Their drunkenness was intense. They could prepare a drink, deadly intoxicat- 
ing in its nature, from a mountain plant called the awa (Piper methysticum). A 
bowl of this disgusting liquid was always prepared and served out just as a party of 
chiefs were sitting down to their meals. It would sometimes send the victim into 
a slumber from which he never awoke. The confirmed awa drinker could be imme- 
diately recognized by his leprous appearance. 

"By far the darkest feature in their social condition was seen in the family rela- 
tion. Society, however, is only a word of mere accommodation, designed to express 
domestic relations as they then existed. ^Society' was, indeed, such a sea of pollution 
as cannot be well described. Marriage was unknown, and all the sacred feelings 
which are suggested to our minds on mention of the various social relations, such 
as husband and wife, parent and child, brother and sister, were to them, indeed, 
as though they had no existence. There was, indeed, in this respect, a dreary blank 
— a dark' chasm from which the soul instinctively recoils. There were, perhaps, 
some customs which imposed some little restraint upon the intercourse of the sexes, 
but those customs were easily dispensed with, and had nothing of the force of estab- 
lished rules. It was common for a husband to have many wives, and for a wife also 
to have many husbands. The nearest ties of consanguinity were but little regarded, 



324 EARLY HISTOEY OF THE SAiS'DWICH ISLANDS. 

and among the chiefs^ especially, the connection of brother with sister, and parent" 
with child, were very common. For husbands to intercliange wives, and for wives 
to interchange husbands, was a common act of friendship, and persons who would 
not do this were not considered on good terms of sociability. For a man or woman 
to refuse a solicitation was considered an act of meanness; and this sentiment was 
thoroughly wrought into their minds, that, they seemed not to rid themselves of 
the feeling of meanness in a refusal, to feel, notwithstanding their better knowledge, 
that to comply was generous, liberal, and social, and to refuse reproachful and nig- 
gardly. It would Be impossible to enumerate or specify the crimes which emanated 
from this state of affairs. Their political condition w^as the very genius of despotism, 
systematically and deliberately conducted. Kings and chiefs weve extremely jealous 
of their succession, and the more noble their blood, the more they were venerated 
by the common people.'' 

Mr. Sheldon Dibble is a historian whose work was published in 1 8.1:3. He com- 
plains most bitterly that the natives bothered the missionaries by trying to give 
them the benefit of native thought. They wanted to do some of the talking, and 
said very childish things, and were so intent on their own thoughts that they would 
not listen to the preachers. But it ought not to have been held to be an offense for 
a procession of heathen to march to a missionary's house and tell him their thoughts. 
That was an honest manifestation of profound interest — the slow ripening of a 
harvest field. Mr. Dibble's book is printed by the Mission Seminary, and Mr. Dib- 
ble says, page 21: "We know that all the inhabitants of the earth descended from 
Noah," therefore, the Hawaiians "must once have known the great Jehova and 
the principles of true rehgion." But the historian says on the next page that the 
Hawaiians were heathen from time immemorial, for, "Go back to the very first re- 
puted progenitor of the Hawaiian race, and you find that the ingredients of their 
character are lust, anger, strife, malice, sensuality, revenge and the worship of idols." 
This is the elevation upon which Mr. Dibble places himself to fire upon the memory 
of the English navigator Captain James Cook. The first paragraph of the assault 
on Cook is this: 

"How unbounded the influence of foreign visitors upon the ignorant inhabitants- 
of the Pacific! If the thousands of our countrymen who visit this ocean were actu- 
ated by the pure principles of the religion of Jesus, how immense the good they 
might accomplish! But, alas! how few visitors to the AVestern hemisphere are 
actuated by such principles." 

This is 'preparatory to the condemnation of Cook in these terms: "Captain 
Cook allowed himself to be worshipped as a god. The people of iCealakeakua de- 



EASLY mSTOr.Y OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 32.j 

clined trading with him, and loaded his ship freely with the best productions of 
the island. The priests approached him in a crouching attitude, uttering prayers, 
and exhibiting all the formalities of worship. Afier approaching him with prostra- 
tion the priests cast their red kapas over his shoulders and then receding a little, they 
presented hogs and a variety of other offerings, with long addresses rapidly enun- 
ciated, which were a repetition of their prayers and religious homage. 

"When he went on shore most of the people fled for fear of him, and others 
bowed down before him, with solemn reverence. He was conducted to the house 
of the gods, and into the sacred enclosure, and received there the highest homage. 
In view of this fact, and of the death of Captain Cook, which speedily ensued, who 
can fail being admonished to give to God at all times, and even among barbarous 
tribes, the glory which is his due? Captain Cook might have directed the rude and 
ignorant natives to the great Jehovah, instead of receiving divine homage himself. 

"Kalaniopuu, the king, arrived from Maui on the 24th of January, and imme- 
diately laid a tabu on the canoes, which prevented the women from A^siting the 
ship, and consequently the men came on shore in great numbers, gratifying their 
infamous purposes in exchange for pieces of iron and small looking-glasses. Some 
of the women washed the coating from the bac^v of the glasses much to their regret, 
when they found that the reflecting property was thus destroyed. 

"The king, on his arrival, as well as the people, treated Captain Cook with much 
kindness, gave him feather cloaks and fly brushes and paid him divine honors. 
This adoration, it is painful to relate, was received without remonstrance. I shall 
speak here somewhat minutely of the death of Captain Cook, as it develops some 
traits of the heathen character, and the influence under which the heathen suffer 
from foreign intercourse.^' 

After setting forth the horrible character of the natives. Captain Cook is con- 
demned and denounced because he did not refuse the homage of the ferocious savages, 
paid him as a superior creature. One of Cook's troubles was the frantic passion 
the islanders had to steal iron. The common people were the property of the chiefs, 
and they had no other sense of possession. They gave away what they had, but took 
what they wanted. 

Mr. Dibble shows his animus when he charges that Cook did not give the natives 
the real value of their hogs and fruit, and also that he had no right to stop pilferers 
in canoes by declaring and enforcing a blockade. This is a trifling technicality 
much insisted upon. Dibble's account of the death of Cook is this: 

"A canoe came from an adjoining district, bound within the bay. In the canoe 
were two chiefs of some rank, Kekuhaupio and Kalimu. The canoe was fired upon 



B26 EAELY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

from one of the boats and Kalimu was killed. Kekuhaupio made the greatest speed 
till he reached the place of the king, where Captain Cook also was, and communi- 
cated the intelligence of the death of the chief. The attendants of the king were 
enraged and showed signs of hostility, but were restrained by the thought that 
Captain Cook w^as a god. At that instant a warrior, with a spear in his hand, ap- 
proached Captain Cook and was heard to say that the boats in the harbor had 
killed his brother, and he would be revenged. Captain Cook, from his enraged 
appearance and that of the multitude, was suspicious of him, and fired upon him 
with his pistol. Then followed a scene of confusion, and in the midst Captain Cook 
being hit with a stone, and perceiving the man who threw it, shot him dead. He also 
struck a certain chief with his sword, whose name was Kalaimanokahoowaha. The 
chief instantly seized Captain Cook with a strong hand, designing merely to hold 
him and not to take his life; for he supposed him to be a god and that he could not 
die. Captain Cook struggled to free himself from the grasp, and as he was about 
to fall uttered a groan. The people immediately exclaimed, "He groans — he is not 
a god," and instantly slew him. Such was the melancholy death of Captain Cook. 

"Immediately the men in the boat commenced a deliberate fire upon the crowd. 
They had refrained in a measure before, for fear of killing their Captain. Many of 
the natives were killed." 

"Historian Dibble does not notice the evidence that Cook lost his life by turning 
to his men in the boats, ordering them not to fire. It was at that moment he was 
stabbed in the back. Dibble represents the facts as if to justify the massacre of the 
great navigator, because he allowed the heathen to think he was one of their gang of 
gods. But this presumption ought not to have been allowed to excuse prevarica- 
tion about testimony. The importance of Dibble's history is that it is representa- 
tive. He concludes with this eloquent passage: "From one heathen nation we 
may learn in a measure the wants of all. And we ought not to restrict our view, 
but, look at the wide world. T^ do then for all nations what I have urged in be- 
half of the Sandwich Islands, how great and extensive a work! How vast the num- 
ber of men and how immense tlie amount of means which seem necessary to elevate 
all nations, and gain over the whole earth to the permanent dominion of the Lord 
Jesus Christ! Can 300,000,000 of pagan children and 3'Outh be trained and in- 
structed by a few hands? Can the means of instructing them be furnished by the 
mere farthings and pence of the church? Will it not be some time yet before minis- 
ters and church members will need to be idle a moment for the want of work? Is 
there any danger of our being cut off from the blessed privilege either of giving or 
of going? There is a great work yet to be done — a noble work — a various and &. 




RIDING BUFFALOES THROUGH GROVES OF DATE PALMS. 




A NATIVE HOUSE. 




GREAT BRIDGE AT MANILA. 




NATIVES FISHIXG FROM A CANAL BOAT. 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLAXDS. 327 

difficult work-a work worthy of God's power, God's resources, and God's wisdom 
What Christendom has as yet done is scarcely worthy of being called a commence- 
ment. When God shall bring such energies into action as shall be commensurate 
with the greatness of the work— when he shall cause every redeemed sinner, by 
the abundant influence of His Holy Spirit, to lay himself out wholly in the great 
enterprise, then there will be a sight of moral sublimity that shall rivet the gaze of 
angels." 

We quote this writer as to what became of the remains of Cook: "The body of 
Captain Cook was carried into the interior of the island, the bones secured accord- 
ing to their custom, and the flesh burned in the tire. The heart, liver, etc., of Cap- 
tain Cook, were stolen and eaten by some hungry children, who mistook them in the 
night for the inwards of a dog. The names of the children were Kupa, Mohoole and 
Kaiwikokoole. These men are now all dead. The last of the number died two 
years since at the station ^of Lahaina. Some of the bones of Captain Cook were 
sent on board his ship, in compliance with the urgent demands of the officers; and 
some were kept by the priests as objects of worship." The "heart, liver, etc.," 'were ' 
of course given to the children to eat! The bones are still hidden, and presumably 
not much worshiped. The first of the remains of Captain Cook given up was a 
mass of his bloody flesh, cut as if from a slaughtered ox. After some time there 
were other fragments, including one of his hands which had a well known scar, 
and perfectly identified it. Along with this came the story of burning flesh, and 
denials of cannibalism. Mr. Dibble speaks of Cook's "consummate folly and out- 
rageous tyranny of placing a blockade upon a heathen bay, which the natives could 
not possibly be supposed either to understand or appreciate." That blockade, hke 
others, was understood when enforced. The historian labors to work out a cJse to 
justify the murder of Cook because he received worship. As to the acknowledgment 
of Cook as the incarnation of Lono, in the Hawaiian Pantheon, Captain King says: 

"Before I proceed to relate the adoration that was paid to Captain Cook,°and the 
peculiar ceremonies with which he was received on this fatal island, it will be nec- 
essary to describe the Moral, situated, as I have already mentioned, at the south 
side of the beach at Kakooa (Kealakeakua). It 'was a square solid pile of stones, 
about forty yards long, twenty broad, and fourteen in height. The top was flat and 
well paved, and surrounded by a wooden rail, on which were fixed the skulls of the 
captives sacrificed on the death of their chiefs. In the center of the area stood a ruin- 
ous old building of wood, connected with the rail on each side by a stone wall, 
which next divided the whole space into two parts. On the side next the country 
were five poles, upward of twenty feet high, supporting an irregular kind of scaffold; 



328 EAELY HISTOKY OF THE SAXDWICH ISLANDS. 

on the opposite side toward tlie sea, stood two small Iioiises with a covered communi- 
cation. 

'•'AVe were conducted by Koah to the top of this pile by an easy ascent leading 
from the beach to the northwest corner of the area. At the entrance we saw two 
large wooden images, with features violently distorted, and a long piece of carved 
wood of a conical form inverted, rising from the top of their heads; the rest was 
without form and wrapped round wfth red cloth. We were here met by a tall young 
man with a long beard, Avho presented Captain Cook to the images, and after chanting 
a kind of hymn, in which he was joined by Koah, they led us to that end of the 
Moral where the five poles were fixed. At the foot of them were twelve images 
ranged in a semicircular form, and before the middle figure stood a high stand or 
table, exactly resembling the AYhatta of Othaheiti, on which lay a putrid hog, and 
under it pieces of sugar cane, cocoanuts, bread fruit, plantains and sweet potatoes 
Koah having placed the Captain under the stand, took down the hog and held it 
toward him; and after having a second time addressed him in a long speech, pro- 
nounced with much vehemence and rapidity, he let it fall on the ground and led 
him to the scaffolding, w^hich they began to climb together, not without great risk of 
falling. At this time we saw coming in solemn procession, at the entrance of the top 
of the Moral, ten men carrying a live hog and a large piece of red cloth. Being 
advanced a few paces, they stopped and prostrated themselves; and Kaireekeea, the 
young man above mentioned, went to them, and receiving the cloth carried it to 
Koah, who wrapped it around the Cap'tain, and afterwards offered him the hog, 
which was brought by Kaireekeea with the same ceremony. 

"Whilst Captain Cook was aloft in this awkward situation, swathed round with 
red cloth, and with difficulty keeping his hold amongst the pieces of rotten scaf- 
folding, Kaireekeea and Koah began their office, chanting sometimes in concert and 
sometimes alternately. This lasted a considerable time; at length Koah let the 
hog drop, when he and the Captain descended together. He then led him to the 
images before mentioned, and, having said something to each in a sneering tone, 
snapping his fingers at them as he passed, he Brought him to that in the center, 
which, from its being covered with red cloth, appeared to be in greater estimation 
than the rest. Before this figure he prostrated himself and kissed it, desiring Cap- 
tain Cook to do the same, who suffered himself to be directed by Koah throughout 
the whole of this ceremony. 

"We were now led back to the other dlAdsion of the ^Eorai, where there was a 
space ten or twelve feet square, sunk about three feet below the level of the area. 
Into this we descended, and Captain Cook was seated between two wooden idols, 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE SAXDWICH ISLANDS. 329 

Koali supporting one of his arms, whilst I was desired to support the other. At 
this time arrived a second procession of natives, carrying a baked hog and a pudding, 
some bread fruit, cocoanuts and other vegetables. When they approached us Kai- 
reekeea put himself at their head, and presenting the pig to Captain Cook in the 
usual manner, began the same Idnd of chant as before, his companions making 
regular responses. AYe observed that after every response their parts became grad- 
ually shorter, till, toward the close, Kaireekeea^s consisted of only two or three 
words, while the rest answered by the word Orono. 

^'When this offering was concluded, which lasted a'ciuarter of an hour, the na- 
tives sat down fronting us, and began to cut up the baked hog, to peel the vegetables 
and break the cocoanuts; whilst others employed themselves in brewing the awa, 
which is done by chewing it in the same manner as at the Friendly Islands. Kairee- 
keea then took part of the kernel of a cocoanut, which he chewed, and wrapping 
it in a piece of cloth, rubbed wdth it the Captain's face, head, hands, arms and shoul- 
ders. The awa was then handed around, and after we had tasted it Koah and 
Pareea began to pull the flesh of the hog in pieces and put it into our mouths. I had 
no great objection to being fed by Pareea, who was very cleanly in his person, but 
Captain Cook, who was served by Koah, recollecting the putrid hog, could not 
swallow a morsel; and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not diminished when 
the old man, according to his own mode of civility had chewed it for him. 

"When this ceremony was finished, which Captain Cook put an end to as soon as 
he decently could, we quitted the Moral.'' 

Evidently the whole purpose of Captain Cook in permitting this performance, 
was to flatter and gratify the natives and make himself strong to command them. 
The Captain himself was sickened, and got away as quickly as he could without 
giving offense. This was not the only case in which the native priests presented the 
navigator as a superior being. Perhaps the view the old sailor took of the style 
of ceremony was as there were so many gods, one more or less did not matter. Cook 
never attached importance to the freaks of superstition, except so far as it might be 
made useful in keeping the bloody and beastly savages in check. Bearing upon 
this point we quote W. D. Alexander's "Brief History of the Hawaiian People,'' 
pages 33-34: 

"Infanticide was fearfully prevalent, and there were few of the older women 
at the date of the abolition of idolatry who had not been guilty of it. It was the 
opinion of those best informed that two-thirds of all the children born were de- 
stroyed in infancy by their parents. They were generally buried alive, in many cases 
in the very houses occupied by their unnatural parents. On all the islands the num- 



i^ EARLY HISTOEY OF THE SANDWICH ISLAISTDS. 

tier of males was mucli greater than that of females, in consequence of the girls 
being more frequently destroyed than the boys. The principal reason given for it 
was laziness — unwillingness to take the trouble of rearing children. It was a very 
eommon practice for parents to give away their children io any persons who were 
willing to adopt them. 

'^^JN'o regular parental discipline was maintained, and the children were too often 
left to follow their own inclinations and to become familiar with the lowest vices. 

"^^eg-lect of the helpless. Among the common people old age was despised. The 
sick and those who had become helpless from age were sometimes abandoned to die 
or put to death. Insane people were also sometimes stoned to death." 
Again we quote Alexander's History, page 49: 

'"Several kinds of food were forbidden to the women on pain of death, viz., 
pork, bananas, cocoanuts, turtles, and certain kinds of fish, as the ulna, the humu, 
the shark, the hihimanu or sting-ray, etc. The men of the poorer class often formed 
Si sort of eating club apart from their wives. These laws were rigorously enforced. 
At Honaunau, Hawaii, two young girls of the highest rank, Kapiolani and Keoua, 
liaving been detected in the act of eating a banana, their kahu, or tutor, was held re- 
sponsible, and put to death by drowning. Shortly before the abolition of the tabus, 
a little child had one of her eyes scooped out for the same offense. About the same 
time a woman was put to death for entering the eating hquse of her husband, al- 
|;liough she was tipsy at the time.'^ 

Captain Cook seems to have committed the unpardonable sin in not beginning 
the stated work of preaching the gospel a long generation before the missionaries 
arrived, and the only sound reason for this is found in Dibble's History, in his state- 
.ment that the islanders steadily degenerated until the missions were organized. 

Writers of good repute, A. Fornander, chief of them, are severe with Captain 
Coo"k on -account of his alleged greed, not paying enough for the red feathers woven 
into fanciful forms. Perhaps that is a common fault in the transactions of civilized 
men with barbarians. William Penn is the only man wffli a great reputation for 
dealing fairly with American Eed Men, and he was not impoverished by it. Cook 
gave nails for hogs, and that is mentioned in phrases that are malicious. Iron was 
to the islanders the precious metal, and they were not cheated. A long drawn out 
efforthas been made to impress the world thatCook thought himself almost a god,and 
was a monster. The natives gave to the wonderful people who came to them in ships, 
liberally of their plenty, and received in return presents that pleased them, articles 
©f utility. Beads came along at a later day. The natives believed Cook one of 
the heroes of the imagination that they called gods. He sought to propitiate them 



EAELY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 331 

end paid for fruit and meat in iron and showy trifles. His policy of progress was to 

introduce domestic animals. 

Note tlie temper of Mr. Abraham Fornander^ a man who has meant honesty of 
statement, but whose information was perverted: 

"And how did Captain Cook requite this boundless hospitalit}^, that never once 
made default during his long stay of seventeen days in Kealakeakua, these mag- 
nificent presents o^ immense value, this delicate and spontaneous attention to every' 
want, this friendship of the chiefs and priests, this friendliness of the commoQ 
people? By imposing on their good nature to the utmost hmit of its ability to re- 
spond to the greedy and constant calls of their new friends; by shooting at one of 
the king's officers for endeavoring to enforce a law of the land, an edict of Ms 
sovereign that happened to be unpalatable to the new comers, and caused theni 
some temporary inconvenience, after a week's profusion and unbridled license; 
by a liberal exhibition of his force and the»meanest display of his bounty; by giving 
the king a linen shirt and a cutlass in return for feather cloaks and helmets, whicb, 
irrespective of their value as insignia of the highest nobility in the land, were worth 
singly at least from five to ten thousand dollars, at present price of the feathers, 
not counting the cost of manufacturing; by a reckless disregard of the proprieties 
of ordinary intercourse, even between civilized and savage man, and a wanton insult 
to what he reasonably may have supposed to have been the religious sentiments 
of his hosts." This is up to the mark of a criminal lawyer retained to prove by 
native testimony that Captain James Cook was not murdered, but executed for cause^ 
The great crime of Cook is up to this point that of playing that he was one of the 
Polynesian gods. Fornander says: "When the sailors carried off, not only the rail- 
ing of the temple, but also the idols of the gods within it, even the large-hearted 
patience of Kaoo gave up, and he meekly requested that the central idol at least 
might be restored. Captain King failed to perceive that the concession of the 
priests was that of a devotee to his saint. The priests would not sell their rehgion? 
emblems and belongings for "thirty pieces of silver," or any remuneration, but they 
were willing to offe;- up the entire Heiau, and themselves on the top of it, as a 
holocaust to Lono, if he had requested it. So long as Cook was regarded as a god 
in their eyes they could not refuse liim. And though they exhibited no resentment 
at the request, the want of delicacy and consideration on the part of Captain Cook 
is none the less glaring. After his death, and when the illusion of godship had sub- 
sided, his spoliation of the very Heiau in which he had been deified was not on« 
of the least of the grievances which native annalists laid uj) against him."' 



332 EARLY HISTORY OF THE SAXDWICH ISLANDS. 

Contrast this flagranc}^ in advocacy of the cause of the barbarous natives with 
the last words Cook wrote in his journal. We quote from "A Voyage to the 
Pacific Ocean/' by Captain James Cook, F. R. S., (Vol. IL, pages 251-252): 

"As it was of the last importance to procure a supply of provisions at these 
islands; and experience having taught me that I could have no chance to succeed 
in this, if a free trade with the natives were to be allowed; that is, if it were left 
to every man's discretion to trade for what he pleased, and in what manner he 
pleased; for this substantial reason, I now published an order prohibiting all per- 
sons from trading, except such as should be appointed by me and Captain Clarke; 
and even these were enjoined to trade only for provisions and refreshments. Women 
were also forobidden to be admitted into the ships, except under certain restric- 
tions. But the evil I intended to prevent, by this regulation, I soon found had 
already got amongst them. 

"I stood in again the next morning till within three or four miles of the land, 
where w^e were met with a number of canoes laden with provisions. We brought 
to, and continued trading with the people in them till four in the afternoon, 
when, having got a pretty good supply, we made sail and stretched off to the 
northward. 

"I had never met with a behavior so free from reserve and suspicion in my 
intercourse with any tribe of savages as we experienced in the people of this island. 
It was very common for them to send up into the ship the several articles they 
brought for barter; afterward, they would come in themselves and make their bar- 
gains on the quarter-deck. 

"We spent the night as usual, standing off and on. It happened that four 
men and ten women who had come on board the preceding day still remained with 
us. As I did not like the company of the latter, I stood in shore toward noon, 
principally with a view to get them out of the ship; and, some canoes coming off, 
I took that .oj)portunity of sending away our guests. 

"In the evening Mr. Bligh returned and reported that he had found a bay in 
which was good anchorage, and fresh water in a situation tolerably easy to be come 
at. Into this bay I resolved to carry the ships, there to refit and supply ourselves 
with every refreshment that the place could afford. As night approached the 
greater part of our visitors retired to the shore, but numbers of them requested 
our permission to sleep on board. Curiosity was not the only motive, at least with 
some, for the next morning several things were missing, which determined me not 
to entertain so manv another nio-ht. 



EAELY HISTORY OF THE SAXDAVICH ISLANDS. eS33 

^'At eleven o'clock in the forenoon we anchored in the bay, which is called 
by the natives Karakaooa, (Kealakeakua), in thirteen fathoms water, over a sandy 
bottom, and aboiat a quarter of a mile from the northeast shore. In this situation 
the south point of the bay bore south by west, and the north point west half 
north. We moored with the stream-anchor and cable, to the northward, unbent 
the sails and struck yards and topmasts. The ships continued to be much crowded 
with natives, and were surrounded by a multitude of canoes. I had nowhere, in 
the course of my voyages, seen so numerous a body of people assembled in one 
place. For, besides those who had come off to us in canoes, all the shore of the 
bay was covered with spectators, and many hundreds were swimming around the 
ships like shoals of fish. We could not but be struck with the singularity of this 
scene, and perhaps there were few on board who lamented our having failed in our 
endeavors to find a northern passage homevv^ard last summer. To this disappoint- 
ment w^e owed our having it in our power to revisit the Sandwich Islands, and to 
enrich our voyage with a discovery which, though the last, seemed in many re- 
spects to be the most important that had hitherto been made by Europeans, through- 
out the extent of the Pacific Ocean.'^ 

This is the end of Cook's wTiting. His murder followed immediately. He fell 
by the hands of people for whom his good will w^as shown in his last words. The 
concluding pages of the journal answer all the scandals his enemies have so busily 
circulated. 

There is a gleam of humor that shows like a thread of gold in the midst of 
the somber tragedies of the Sandwich Islands, and we must not omit to extract 
it from "The Voyage of Discovery Around the World" by Captain George Van- 
couver, when he spent some time in Hawaii, and gives two bright pictures — one 
of a theatrical performance, and the other the happy settlement of the disordered 
domestic relations of a monarch. 

A GIFTED NATIVE ACTEESS AND SOME ROYAL DRAMATISTS. 

"There was a performance by a single young woman of the name of Puckoo^ 
whose person and manners were both very agreeable. Her dress, notwithstanding 
the heat of the weather, consisted of an immense quantity of cloth, which was 
wreaths of black, red and yellow feathers; but, excepting these, she wore no dress 
a manner as to give a pretty effect to the variegated pattern of the cloth; and was 
otherways disposed with great taste. Her head and neck were decorated with 
wreaths of black, red and yellow feathers; but, excepting these, she wore no dress 



834 EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

from the waist upwards. Her ankles, and nearly half way up her legs, were deco- 
rated with several folds of cloth, widening upwards, so that the upper parts ex- 
tended from the leg at least four inches all round; this was encompassed by a 
piece of net work, wrought very close, from the meshes of which were hung the 
small teeth of dogs, giving this part of her dress the appearance of an ornamented 
funnel. On her wrists she wore bracelets made of the tusks of the largest hogs. 
These were highly polished and fixed close together in a ring, the concave sides 
of the tusks being outwards; and their ends reduced to a uniform length, curving 
naturally away from the center, were by no means destitute of ornamental effect. 
Thus equipped, her appearance on the stage, before she uttered a single word, ex- 
cited considerable ajoplause. 

"These amusements had hitherto been confined to such limited performances; 
but this afternoon was to be dedicated to one of a more splendid nature, in which 
some ladies of consequence, attendants on the court of Tamaahmaah, were to per- 
form the principal parts. Great pains had been taken, and they had gone through 
many private rehearsals, in order that the exhibition this evening might be worthy 
of the public attention; on the conclusion of which, I purposed by a display of 
fireworks, to make a return for the entertainment they had afforded us. 

"About four o'clock we were informed it was time to attend the royal dames; 
their theatre, or rather place of exhibition, was about a mile to the southward of 
our tents, in a small square, surrounded by houses, and sheltered by trees, a situa- 
tion as well chosen for the performance, as for the accommodationo of the specta- 
tors; who, on a moderate computation, could not be estimated at less than four 
thousand, of all ranks and descriptions of persons. 

"The dress of the actresses was something like that worn by Puckoo, though 
made ©f superior materials, and disposed with more taste and elegance. A very con- 
siderable quantity of their finest cloth was prepared for the occasion; of this their 
lower garment was formed, which extended from their waist half down their legs,, 
and was so plaited as fo appear very much like a hoop petticoat. This seemed the 
most difficult part of their dress to adjust, for Tamaahmaah, who was considered 
to be a profound critic, was frequently appealed to by the women, and his direc- 
tions were implicitly followed in many little alterations. Instead of the ornaments- 
of cloth and net-work, decorated with dogs' teeth, these ladies had each a green 
wreath made of a kind of bind weed, twisted together in different parts like a rope, 
which was wound round from the ankle, nearly to the lower part of the petticoat. 
On their wrists they wore no bracelets nor other ornaments, but across their necks 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 335 

and shoulders were green sashes, very nicely made, with the broad leaves of the 
tee, a plant that produces a very luscious sweet root, the size of a yam. This part 
of their dress was put on the last by each of the actresses; and the party being now 
fully attired, the king and queen, who had been present the whole time of their 
dressino-, were obliged to withdraw, greatly to the mortification oj the latter, who 
would gladly have taken her part as a performer, in which sTie was reputed to 
excel very highly. But the royal pair were compelled to retire, even from the ex- 
hibition, as they are prohibited by law from attending such amusements, except- 
ing on the festival of the new year. Indeed, the performance of this day was con- 
trary to the established rules of the island^ but being intended as a compliment ta 
us, the innovation was permitted. 

"As their majesties withdrew, the ladies of rank and the principal chiefs began 
to make their appearance. The reception of the former by the multitude was 
marked by a degree of respect that I had not before seen amongst any inhabitants 
of the countries in the Pacific Ocean. The audience assembled at this time were 
standing in rows, from fifteen to twenty feet deep, so close as to touch each other; 
but these ladies no sooner approached in their rear, in any accidental direction, than 
a passage was instantly made for them and their attendants to pass through in 
the most commodious manner to their respective stations, where they seated them- 
selves on the ground, which w^as covered with mats, in the most advantageous sit- 
uation for seeing and hearing the performers. Most of these ladies were of a cor- 
pulent form, which, assisted by their stately gait, the dignity with which they 
moved, and the number of their pages, who followed with fans to court the refresh- 
ing breeze, or with fly-flaps to disperse the offending insects, announced their con- 
sequence as the wives, daughters, sisters, or other near relations of the principal 
chiefs, who, however, experienced no such marks of respect or attention themselves; 
being obliged to make their way through the spectators in the best manner they 
were able. 

"The time devoted to the decoration of the actresses extended beyond the limits 
of the quiet patience of the audience, who exclaimed two or three times, from all 
quarters, "Hoorah, hoorah, poaliealee,^' signifying that it would be dark and black 
night before the performance would begin. But the audience here, like similar 
ones in other countries, attending with a pre-disposition to be pleased, was in good 
humor, and was easily appeased, by the address of our faithful and devoted friend 
Trywhookee, who was the conductor of the ceremonies, and sole manager on this 
occasion. He came forward and apologized by a speech that produced a general 



336 EAELY HISTOEY OF THE SAXDAVICH ISLANDS. 



laugh, and, causing the music to begin, we heard no further murmurs. 

"The band consisted of five men, all standing up, each with a highly polished 
wooden spear in the left, and a small piece of the same material, equally well fin- 
ished, in the right hand; with this they beat on the spear, as an accompaniment 
to their own voices in songs, that varied both as to time and measure, especially 
the latter; yet their voices, and the sounds produced from the rude instruments, 
which differed according to the place on which the tapering spear was struck, ap- 
peared to accord very well. Having engaged us a short time in this vocal perform- 
ance, the court ladies made their appearance, and were received with shouts of the 
greatest applause. The musicians retired a few paces, and the actresses took their 
station before them. 

"The heroine of the piece, which consisted of four or five acts, had once shared 
the affections and embraces of Tamaahmaah, but was now married to an inferior 
chief, whose occupation in the household was that of the charge of the king's ap- 
parel. This lady was distinguished by a green wreath round the crown of the head; 
next to her was the captive daughter of Titeeree; the third a younger sister to the 
queen, the wife of Crymamahoo, who, being of the most exalted rank, stood in 
the middle. On each side of these were two of inferior quality, making in all seven 
actresses. They drew themselves up in a line fronting that side of the square that 
was occupied by ladies of quality and the chiefs. These were completely detached 
from the populace, not by any partition, but, as it were, by the respectful consent 
of the lower orders of the assembly; not one of which trespassed or produced the 
least inaccommodation. 

"This representation, like that before attempted to be described, was a compound 
of speaking and singing; the subject of which was enforced by gestures and actions. 
The piece was in honor of a captive princess, whose name was Crycowculleneaow; 
and on her name being pronounced, every one present, men as well as Women, who 
wore any ornaments above their waists, were obliged to take them off, though the 
captive lady was at least sixty miles distant. This mark of respect was unobserved 
by the actresses whilst engaged in the performance; but the instant any one sat 
down, or at the close of the act, they were also obliged to comply with this mys- 
terious ceremony. 

"The variety of attitudes into which these women threw themselves, with the 
rapidity of their action, resembled no amusement in any other part of the world 
within my knowledge, by a comparison with which I might be enabled to convey 
some idea of the stage effect thus produced, particularly in the three first parts. 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 337 

in which there appeared much correspondence and liarmony between the tone of 
their voices and the disphiy of tlieir limbs. One or two of the performers being 
not quite so perfect as the rest, afforded us. an opportunity of exercising our judg- 
ment by comparison; and it must be confessed, that the ladies who most excelled, 
exhibited a degree of graceful action, for the attainment of which it is difficult to 
account. 

^^In each of these first parts the songs, attitudes and actions appeared to me of 
greater variety than I had before noticed amongst the people of the great South 
Sea nation on any former occasion. The whole, though I am unequal to its de- 
scription, was supported with a wonderful degree of spirit and vivacity; so much 
indeed that some of their exertions were made with such a degree of agitating vio- 
lence as seemed to carry the performers beyond what their strength was able to 
sustain; and had the performance finished with the third act, we should have re- 
tired from their theatre with a much higher idea of the moral tendency of their 
drama, than was conveyed by the offensive, libidinous scene, exhibited by the la- 
dies in the concluding part. The language of the song, no doubt, corresponded 
with the obscenity of their actions; which were carried to a degree of extravagance 
that were calculated to produce nothing but disgust, even to the most licentious." 

From ^^A Voyage of Discovery," by Captain George Vancouver: 

THE RECONCILIATION BY STRATEGY OF A KING WITH ONE OF HIS 

QUEENS. 

"Tahowmotoo was amongst the most constant of our guests; but his daughter, 
the disgraced queen, seldom visited our side of the bay. I was not, however, ig- 
norant of her anxious desire for a reconcihation with Tamaahmaah; nor was the 
same wish to be misunderstood in the conduct and behavior of the king, in whose 
good opinion and confidence I had now acquired such a predominancy that I be- 
came acquainted with his most secret inclinations and apprehensions. 

"His unshaken attachment and unaltered affection for Tahowmannoo was con- 
fessed with a sort of internal self conviction of her innocence. He acknowledged 
with great candor that his own conduct had not been exactly such as warranted 
his having insisted upon a separation from his queen; that althotigh it could not 
authorize, it in some measure pleaded in excuse for her infidelity; and for his own, 
he alleged, that his high rank and supreme authority was a sort of licence for such 
indulgences. 

'^An accommodation which I considered to be mutually wished by both parties 



338 EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

was urged in the strongest terms by the queen's relations. To effect this desira- 
ble purpose, my interference was frequently solicited by them; and as it concurred 
with my own inclination, I resolved on embracing the first favorable opportunity 
to use my best endeavors for bringing a reconciliation about. For although, on 
our former visit, Tahowmannoo had been regarded with the most favorable im- 
pressions, yet, whether from her distresses, or because she had really improved in 
her personal accomplishments, I will not take upon me to determine, but certain 
it is that one or both of these circumstances united had so far prepossessed us all 
in her favor, and no one more so than myself, that it had long been the general 
wish to see her exalted again to her former dignities. This desire was probably 
not a little heightened by the regard we entertained for the happiness and repose 
of our noble and generous friend Tamaahmaah, wdio was likely to be materially 
affected not only in his domestic comforts, but in his political situation, by receiv- 
ing again and reinstating his consort in her former rank and consequence. 

"I was convinced beyond all doubt that there were two or three of the most 
considerable chiefs, of the island whose ambitious views were inimical to the in- 
terests and authority of Tamaahmaah; and it was much to be apprehended that 
if the earnest solicitations of the queen's father (whose condition and importance 
was next in consequence to that of the king) should continue to be rejected, that 
there could be little doubt of his adding great strength and influence to the dis- 
contented and turbulent chiefs, which wpuld operate highly to the prejudice, if 
not totally to the destruction, of Tamaahmaah's regal power; especially as the ad- 
verse party seemed to form a constant opposition, consisting of a minority by no 
means to be despised by the executive power, and which appeared to be a principal 
constituent part of the Owhyean politics. 

"For these substantial reasons, whenever he w^as disposed to listen to such dis- 
course, I did not cease to urge the importance and necessity of his adopting measures 
so highly essential to his happiness as a man, and to his power, interest and authority 
as the supreme chief of the island. All this he candidly acknowledged, but his 
pride threw impediments in the way of a reconciliation, which were hard to be re- 
moved. He would not himself become the immediate agent; and although he con- 
sidered it important that the negotiation should be conducted by some one of the 
principal chiefs in his fullest confidence, yet, to soHcit their good offices after 
having rejected their former overtures with disdain, was equally hard to recon- 
cile to his feelings. I stood nearly in the same situation with his favorite friends: 
but being thoroughly convinced of the sincerity of his wishes, I spared him the 



EAELY HISTORY OF THE SAXDWICH ISLAXDS. 339 

mortification of soliciting the oflfices lie had rejected, by again proffering my services. 
To this he instantly consented, and observed that no proposal could Have met his 
mind so completely; since, by effecting a reconciliation through my friendship, 
no umbrage could be taken at his having declined the several offers of his country- 
men by any of the individuals; whereas, had this object been accomplished by any 
one of the chiefs, it would probably have occasioned jealousy and discontent in 
the minds of the others. 

''All, however, was not yet complete; the apprehension that some concession 
might be suggested, or expected, on his part, preponderated against every other 
consideration; and he would on no account consent, that it should appear that 
he had been privy to the business, or that it had been by his desire that a negotia- 
tion had been undertaken for this happy purpose, but that the whole should have 
the appearance of being purely the result of accident. 

"To this end it was determined that I should invite the queen, with several 
of her relations and friends, on board the Discovery, for the purpose of presenting 
them with some trivial matters, as tokens of my friendship and regard; and that, 
whilst thus employed, our conversation should be directed to ascertain whether an 
accommodation was still an object to be desired. That on this appearing to be 
the general wish, Tamaahmaah would instantly repair on board in a hasty man- 
ner, as if he had something extraordinary to communicate; that I should appear 
to rejoice at this accidental meeting, and by instantly uniting their hands, bring 
the reconciliation to pass without the least discussion or explanation on either side. 
But from his extreme solicitude lest he should in any degree be suspected of being 
concerned in this previous arrangement, a diffictilty arose how to make him ac- 
quainted with t]\e result of the proposed conversation on board, which could not 
be permitted by a verbal message; at length, after some thought^ he took up two 
pieces of paper, and of his own accord made certain marks with a pencil on each of 
them^ and then iehvered them to me. The difference of these marks he could 
well recollect; th^ one was to indicate that the result of my inquiries was agreeable 
to his wishes, pr/1 the other that it Avas contrary. In the event of my making use 
of the former. Le proposed that it should not be sent on shore secretly, but in an 
open and declared manner, and by way of a joke, as a present to his Owhyhean 
majesty. The natural gaiety of disposition which generally prevails among these 
islanders, would render this supposed disappointment of the king a subject for 
mirth, would in some degree prepare the company for his visit, and completely 
do away with every idea of its being the effect of a preconcerted measure. 



340 EAELY HISTOEY OF THE SA^tdwICH ISLANDS. 

"This plan was accordingly carried into execution on the following Monday. 
Whilst the queen and her part}-^ totally ignorant of the contrivance^ were receiving 
the compliments I had intended them, their good humor and pleasantry were in- 
finitely heightened by the jest I proposed to pass upon the king, in sending him a 
piece of paper only, carefully wrapped up in some cloth of their own manufacture, 
accompanied by a message; importing, that as I was then in the act of distributing 
favors to my Owhyhean friends, I had not been unmindful of his majesty. 

"Tamaahmaah no sooner received the summons, than he hastened on board, and, 
with his usual vivacity, exclaimed before he made his appearance that he was 
come to thank me for the present I had sent him, and for my goodness in not 
having forgotten him on this occasion. This was heard by everyone in the cabin 
before he entered; and all seemed to enjoy the joke except the poor queen, who 
appeared to -be much agitated at the idea of being again in his presence. The in- 
stant that he saw her his countenance expressed great surprise, he became imme- 
diately silent, and attempted to retire; but, having posted m3'self for the especial 
purpose of preventing his departure, I caught his hand and, joining it with the 
queen's, their reconciliation was instantly completed. This was fully demonstrated^ 
not only by the tears that involuntarily stole down the cheeks of both as they 
embraced each other and mutually expressed the satisfaction they experienced; but 
by the behavior of every individual present, whose feelings on the occasion were not 
to be repressed; whilst their sensibility testified the happiness which this appar- 
ently fortuitous event had produced. 

"A short pause, produced by an event so unexpected, was succeeded by the sort 
of good humor that such a happy circumstance would naturally inspire; the con- 
versation soon became general, cheerful and lively, in which the artifice imagined 
to have been imposed upon the king bore no small share. A little refreshment from 
a few glasses of wine concluded the scene of this successful meeting. 

"After the queen had acknowledged in the most grateful terms the weighty ob- 
ligations which she felt for my services on this occasion, I was surprised by her 
saying, as we were all preparing to go on shore, that she had still a very great 
favor to request; which was, that I should obtain from Tamahmaah a solemn prom- 
ise that on her return to his habitation he would not beat her. The great cor- 
diality with which the reconciliation had taken place, and the happiness that each 
of them had continued to express in consequence of it, led me at first to consider 
this entreaty of the queen as a jest only; but in this I was mistaken, for, notwith- 
standing that Tamaahmaah readily complied with my solicitation, and assured me 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE SAXDWICH ISLAXDS. 341 

nothing of the kind shoukl take phice, yet Tahowmannoo woukl not be satisfied 
t\'ithout my accompanying them home to the royal residence, where I had the 
pleasure of seeing her restored to all her former honors and privileges, highly to 
the satisfaction of all the king's friends, but to the utter mortification of those who 
by their scandalous reports and misrepresentations had been the cause of the un- 
fortunate separtion. 

"The domestic affairs of Tamaahmaah having thus taken so happy a turn, his 
mind was more at liberty for political considerations; and the cession of Owhyhee 
to his Britannic Majesty now became an object of his serious concern." 



Captain Cook makes a strong plea in his journal that he was the very original 
discoverer of the Sandwich Islands. Referring to the wonderful extent of the sur-* 
face of the earth in which the land is occupied by the Polynesial race, he exclaims: 

"How shall we account for this nation^s having spread itself, in so many de- 
tached islands, so widely disjoined from each other, in every quarter of the Pacific 
Ocean! We find it, from New Zealand in the South, as far as the Sandwich Islands, 
to the North! And, in another direction, from Easter Islands to the Hebrides! 
That is, over an extent of sixty degrees of latitude, or twelve hundred leagues, 
North and South! And eighty-three degrees of longitude, or sixteen hundred and 
sixty leagues. East and West! How much farther, in either direction, its colonies 
reach, is not known; but what we know already, in consequence of this and our 
former voyage, v^arrants our pronouncing it to be, though perhaps not the most 
numerous, certainly, by far, the most extensive, nation upon earth. 

"Had the Sandwich Islands been discovered at an early period by the Span- 
iards, there is little doubt that they would have taken advantage of so excellent a 
situation, and have made use of Atooi, or some other of the islands, as a refresh- 
ing place to the ships, that sail annually from Acapulco for Manilla. They lie al- 
most midway between the first place and Guam, one of the Ladrones, which is at 
present their only port in traversing this vast ocean; and it would not have been a 
week's sail out of their common route to have touched at them; which could have 
been done without running the least hazard of losing the passage, as they are suf- 
ficiently within the verge of the easterly trade wind. An acquaintance witli the 
Sandwich Islands would have been equally favorable to our Buccaneers, wlio used 
sometimes to pass from the coast of America to the Ladrones, with a stock of food 
and water scarcely sufficient to preserve Hfe. Here they might always have found 
plenty, and have been within a month's sure sail of the very part of California 



342 EAELY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

which the Manilla ship is obliged to make, or else have returned to the coast of 
America, thoroughh' refitted, after an absence of two months. How happ}' would 
Lord Anson have been, and what hardships he would have avoided, if he had 
known that there was a group of islands half way between America and Tinian, 
where all his wants could have been effectually supplied; and in describing which 
the elegant historian of that voyage would have presented his reader with a more 
agreeable picture than I have been able to draw in this chapter." 

And yet there seems to be reason for believing that there was a Spanish ship 
cast away on one of the Hawaiian group, and that their descendants are distinctly 
marked men yet: There was also a white man and woman saved from the sea at 
some unknown period, of course since Noah, and they multiplied and replenished, 
and the islanders picked up somewhere a knack for doing things in construction 
of boats and the weaving of mats that hint at a crude civilization surviving in. a 
mass of barbarianism. 

Captain George Dixon names the islands discovered by Captain Cook on his 
last voyage: 

"Owh3'hee (Hawaii), the principal, is the first to the southward and eastward, 
the rest run in a direction nearly northwest. The names of the principals are 
Mowee (Maui), Morotoy (Molokai), Eanai (Lanai), Whahoo (Oahu), Attooi (Kauai), 
and Oneehow (Niihau)." 

This account Dixon gives of two curious and rather valuable words: "The 
moment a chief concludes a bargain, he repeats the word Coocoo thrice, with quick- 
ness, and is immediately answered by all the people in his canoe with the word 
Whoah, 'pronounced in a tone of exclamation, but with greater or less energy, in 
proportion as the bargain he has made is approved." 

The great and celebrated Kamehameha, who consolidated the government of 
the islands, did it by an act of treachery and murder, thus told in Alexander's 
history: 

'The Assassination of Keoua. — Toward the end of the year 1791 two of Kame- 
hameha's chief counsellors, Kamanawa and Keaweaheulu, were sent on an embassy 
to Keoua at Kahuku in Kau. Keoua's chief warrior urged him to put them to 
death, which he indignantly refused to do. 

"By smooth speeches and fair promises they persuaded him to go to Kawaihae, 
and have an interview with Kamehameha, in order to put an end to the war, which 
had lasted nine years. Accordingly he set out with his most intimate friends and 




A EEVIEW OF SPANISH FILIPINO VOLUNTEERS, 




A SPANISH FESTIVAL IN MANILA. 



EAELY HISTORY OF THE SAXDWICH ISLANDS. 343 

twenlv-four rowers in his own double canoe, accompanied b}' Keaweaheulu in an- 
other canoe, and followed by friends and retainers in other canoes. 

"x^s they approached the landing at Kawaihae, Keeanmoku surrounded Ke- 
oua's canoe with a number of armed men. As Kamakau relates: ^Seeing Ivame- 
hameha on the beach, Keoua called out to him, ^TTere I am/' to which he replied, 
^^Eise up and come here, that we may know each other.'' ' 

^"As Keoua was in the act of leaping ashore, Keeaumoku killed him with a 
spear. All the men in Keoua's canoe and in the canoes of his immediate company 
were slaughtered but one. But when the second division approached, Kamehameha 
gave orders to stop the massacre. The bodies of the slain were then laid upon the 
^^Itar of Puukohola as an offering to the blood-thirsty divinity Kukailimoku. That 
of Keoua had been previously baked in an oven at the foot of the hill as a last 
indignity. This treacherous murder made Kamehameha master of the whole island 
of Hawaii, and was the first step toward the consolidation of the group under one 
government." 

This is one of those gentle proceedings of an amiable race, whose massacre of 
Captain Cook has been so elaborately vindicated by alleged exponents of civilization. 

There is found the keynote of the grevious native government in an incident 
of the date of 1841 by which "the foreign relations of the government became 
involved with the schemes of a private firm. The firm of Ladd & Co. had taken 
the lead in developing the agricultural resources of the islands by their sugar plan- 
tation at Koloa and in other ways, and had gained the entire confidence of the 
Mng and chiefs. On the 24th of ITovember, 1841, a contract was secretly drawn 
up at Lahaina by Mr. Brinsmade, a member of the firm, and Mr. Eichards, and 
duly signed by the king and premier, which had serious after-consequences. It 
granted to Ladd & Co. the privilege of "leasing any now unoccupied and unim- 
proved localities" in the islands for one hundred years, at a low rental, each mill- 
«ite to include fifteen acres, and the, adjoining land for cultivation in each locality 
not to exceed two hundred acres, with privileges of wood, pasture, etc. These 
-sites were to be selected within one year, which term was afterwards extended to 
four years from date.". 

Of course there are many safeguards, particularly in this case, but the points 
of the possession of land conceded, the time for the people to recover their rights 
never comes. 

One of the difficulties in the clearing up of the foggy chapters of the history 
of the Hawaiian islands is that within the lifetime of men who were voun.ix at the 



344 EAELY HISTORY OF THE SAXDWICH ISLANDS. 

close of the last centuiy, the Hawaiian tongue became, a written language, and 
made the traditions of savages highly colored stories, in various degrees accord- 
ing to ignorance, prejudice and sympathy, accepted as historical. The marvels 
accomplished by the missionaries influenced them to deal gently with those whose 
conversion was a recognized triumph of Christendom, and there was an effort to* 
condemn Captain Cook, who had affected to nod as a God, as a warning to blas- 
phemers. Still, the truth of history is precious as the foundations of faith to men 
of all races and traditions, and the Englishman who surpassed the French, Span- 
iards and Portuguese in discoveries of islands in the vast spaces of the Pacific 
Ocean, should have justice at the hands of Americans who have organized states 
and built cities by that sea, and possess the islands that have been named its para- 
dise because endowed surpassingly with the ample treasures of volcanic soil and 
tropical climate. There the trade winds bestow the freshness of the calm and mighty 
waters, and there is added to the bounty of boundless wealth the charms of luxuriant 
beauty. All Americans should find it timely to be just to Captain Cook, and claim 
l::m as one of the pioneers of our conquering civilization. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 
THE START FOE THE LAXD OF COEX STALKS. 

Spain Clings to the Ghost of Her Colonies — The Scene of War Interest Shifts from 
Manila — The Typhoon Season — General Merritt on the Way to Paris — Ger- 
man Target Practice by Permission of Dewey — Poultney Bigelow with Canoe, 
Typewriter and Kodak — Hongkong as a Bigger and Brighter Gibraltar. 

When Spain gave np the ghosts of her American colonies, and the war situation 
was unfolded to signify that the fate of the Philippines was referred to a conference, 
and Aguinaldo announced the removal of his seat of government to Molones, one 
hour and a half from Manila, the scene of greatest interest was certainly not in the 
city and immediate surroundings. Then it was plain the American army must 
remain for some time, and would have only guard duty to perform. The Spaniards 
had succumbed and were submissive, having laid down their arms and surrendered 
all places and phases of authority. The insurgents' removal of their headquarters 
declared that they had abandoned all claim to sharing in the occupation of the con- 
Cjuered city, and their opposition to the United States, if continued in theory, was not 
to be that in a practical way. Between the American, Spanish and Philippine forces 
there was no probabihty of disputed facts or forms /that could be productive of con- 
tention of a serious nature. There was but one question left in this quarter of the 
world that concerned the people of the United States, and that whether they would 
hold their grip, snatched by Dewey with his fleet, and confirmed by his govern- 
ment in sending an army, making our country possessors of the physical force to 
sustain our policy, whatever it might be, on the land as well as on the sea. Whether 
we should stay or go was not even to be argued in Manila, except in general and 
fruitless conversation. Then came the intelligence that General Merritt had been 
called to Paris and General Greene to Washington, and there was a deepened im- 
pression that the war was over. . It was true that the army was in an attitude and 
having experiences that were such as travelers appreciate as enjoyable, and that 
no other body of soldiers had surroundings so curious and fascinating. The most 
agreeable time of the year was coming on, and the sanitary conditions of the city, 
under the American administration, would surely improve constantly, and so would 
the fare of the men, for the machinery in all departments was working smoothly. 
The boys were feeling pretty well, because they found their half dollars dollars — 

345 



^W THE STAET FOR THE LA^^D OF COEN STALKS. 

the Mexican fifty-cent piece^ bigger and with more silver in it than the American 
standard dollar^ was a bird. A dollar goes further if it is gold in Manila than in 
an American cit}-^ and if our soldiers are not paid in actual gold they get its equiv- 
alent^ and the only money question unsettled is whether the Mexican silver dollar is 
worth in American money fifty cents or less. One of the sources of anxieties and 
disappointment and depression of the American soldiers in Manila has been the 
irregularity and infrequency with which they get letters. If one got a letter or 
newspaper from home of a date not more than six weeks old he had reason to be 
congratulated. The transports trusted with the mails were slow, and communica- 
tions through the old lines between Hongkong and San Francisco, Yohohama and 
Vancouver, were not reliably organized. There were painful cases of masses of 
mail on matter precious beyond all valuation waiting at Hongkong for a boat, and 
an issue whether the shorter road home was not by way of Europe. This is all 
in course of rapid reformation. There will be no more mystery as to routes or 
failures to connect. The soldiers, some of whom are ten thousand miles from home, 
should have shiploads of letters and papers. They need reading matter almost as 
much as they do tobacco, and the charming enthusiasm of the ladies who enter- 
tained the soldier boys when they were going away with feasting and flattery, praise 
and glorification, should take up the good work of sending them letters, papers, mag- 
azines and books. There is no reason why soldiers should be more subject to home- 
sickness than sailors, except that they are not so well or ill accustomed to absence. 
The fact that the soldiers are fond of their homes and long for them can have 
ways of expression other than going home. A few days after the news of peace 
reached Manila, the transports were inspected for closing up the contracts with 
them under which they were detained, and soon they began to move. When the 
China was ordered to San Francisco,! improved the opportunity to return to the great 
republic. There was no chance to explore the many islands of the group of which 
Manila is the Spanish Capital. General Merritt changed the course of this fine sliip 
and added to the variety of the voyage by taking her to Hongkong to sail thence by 
way of the China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Gulf, the Eed Sea, the Suez 
Canal and the Mediterranean, to Paris. Our route to San Francisco, by way of 
Hongkong, Nagasaki, Sunanaski, Kobe and the Yokohama light, was 6,905 knots, 
about seven thousand seven hundred statute miles, and gave us glimpses of the Asia 
shore, the west coast of Formosa and the great ports of Hongkong and Nagasaki, 
The first thing on the Sea of China, in the month of September, is whether we 
shall find ourselves in the wild embrace of a typhoon. It was the season for those terri- 
ble tempests and when we left Manila the information that one was about due was 



THE STAET FOE THE LA^jO OF COR^ STALKS. 347 

not spared us. We heard later on that the transport ahead of us four days, the 
Zealandia, was twenty-eight hours in a cyclone and much damaged — wrung and 
hammered and shocked until she had to put into Nagasaki for extensive repairs. 
The rainfall was so heavy during the storm that one could not see a hundred yards 
from the ship, and she was wrung in so furious a style in a giddy waltz, that the 
Captain was for a time in grave doubt w^hether she would not founder. The rule 
is when one is in the grasp of the oriental whirl to run through it, judging from the 
w^ay of the wind, the shortest way out. There is a comparatively quiet spot in the 
center, and if the beset navigator can find the correct line of flight, no matter which 
way as relates to the line of his journey, he does well to take it. Often in this 
sea, as in this case, there w^ere uncertainties as to directions. The rain narrowed 
observation like a dense fog, and there was danger of running upon some of the 
islands and snags of rocks. The battered vessel pulled through a cripple, with her 
boats shattered, her deck cracked across by a roller, and her crew were happy to find 
a quiet place to be put in order. ^To be or not to be" an American instead of a 
Spanish or Asiatic city was the parting thought as the China left Manila Bay, and 
the dark rocks of Corrigedor faded behind us, and the rugged rocks that confront 
the stormy sea loomed on our right, and the violet peaks of volcanic mountains 
bounded our eastern horizon. The last view we had of the historic ba}^, a big 
German warship was close to the sentinel rock, that the Spaniards thought they had 
fortified, until Dewey came and saw and conquered, swifter than Caesar, and the 
Germans, venturing some target practice, by permission of Dewey, who relaxes no 
vigilance of authority. Hongkong is 628 miles from Manila, and the waters so often 
stirred in monstrous wrath, welcomed us with a spread of dazzling silk. The clumsy 
junks that appeared to have come down from the days of Confucius, were languid 
on the gentle ripples. The outstanding Asian islands, small and grim, are singu- 
larly desolate, barren as if splintered by fire, gaunt and forbidding. Hongkong is 
an island that prospers under the paws of the British lion, and it is a city displayed on 
a mountain side, that by day is not much more imposing than the town of Gibraltar, 
which it resembles, but at night the lights ghtter in a sweeping circle, the steep 
ascent of the streets revealed by many lamps, and here and there the illumination 
climbs to the tops of the mountains that are revealed with magical efforts of color and 
form. The harbor is entered by an ample, but crooked channel, and is land-locked, 
fenced with gigantic bumps that sketch the horizon, and with their heads and 
shoulders are famihar with the sky. Here General Merri tt, with his personal staff, 
left us, and between those bound from this port east and west, we circumnavigated 
the earth. 



348 THE STAET FOE THE LANB OF COEX STALKS. 

Mr. Ponltney Bigelow, of Harper's Weekly, who dropped in by the way just 
-to make a few calls at Manila, and has a commission to explore the rivers and 
lagoons of China with his canoe, left us, in that surprising craft, plying his paddle 
in the fashion of the Esquimaiix, pulling right and left, hand over hand, balancing 
to a nicety on the waves and going ashore dry and unruffled, with his fieldgiass and 
portfolio, his haversack and typewriter machine that he folds in a small box as if it 
was a pocket comb, and his kodak, with which he is an expert. He has not only 
ransacked with his canoe the rivers of America, but has descended the Danube and 
the Volga. He puts out in his canoe and crosses arms of the sea, as a pastime, makes a 
tent of his boat if it rains, fighting the desperadoes of all climes with the super- 
stition, for which he is indebted to their imagination for his safety in running 
phenomenal hazards, that he is a magician. Marco Polo was not so great a traveler 
or so rare an adventurer as Bigelow, and, having left Florida under a thunder cloud 
of the scowl of an angry army for untimely criticisms, he has invaded the celestial 
empire in his quaint canoe, and he can beat the Chinese boatmen on their own 
rivers, and sleep like a sea bird on the swells of green water, floating like a feather, 
and safe in his slumbers as a solon goose with his head under his wing. How- 
ever, he has not a winged boat, a bird afloat sailing round the purple peaks remote, 
as Buchanan Eeed put it in his ^^Drifting" picture of the Yesuvian bay, for 
Bigelow uses a paddle. There has been a good deal of curiosity as well as indigna- 
tion about his papers on the handling of our Cuban expedition before it sailed, 
and it is possible he was guilty of the common fault of firing into the wrong people. 
He was in Washington in June, and he and I meeting on the Bridge of Spain over 
the Pesang in Manila in August, we had, between us, put a girdle about the earth. 
Some say such experiences are good to show how small the earth is, but I am more 
than ever persuaded that it is big enough to find mankind in occupation and sub- 
sistence until time shall be no more. In the dock at Hongkong was Admiral Dewey's 
flagship Olympia, and while she had the grass scratched from her bottom, the gallant 
crew were having a holiday with the zest that rewards those who for four months were 
steadily on shipboard with arduous cares and labors. H. B. M. S. Powerful, of 12,000 
tons displacement, with four huge flues and two immense military masts, presided at 
Hongkong under orders to visit Manila. The mingling of the English and Chinese 
in Hongkong is a lively object lesson, showing the extent of the British capacity to 
utilize Asiatic labor, and get the profit of European capital and discipline, an ac- 
cumulation that requires an established sense of safety — a justified confidence in 
permanency. 

The contrast between the city of Hongkong and that of Manila is one that 



THE STAET FOR THE LAND OF CORX STALKS. 349 

Americans should study now, to be instructed in the respective colonial systems of 
England and Spain. Hongkong is clean and solid, with business blocks of the best 
style of construction, the pavements excellent in material and keeping, shops full of 
goods, all the appliances of modern times — a city up to date. There are English 
enough to manage and Chinese enough to toil. There are two British regiments, 
one of them from India, the rank and file recruited from the fighting tribe> of 
northern mountaineers. There are dark, tall men, with turbans, embodiment of 
mystery, and Parsees who have a strange spirituality of their own, and in material 
matters maintain a lofty code of honor, .while their pastime is that of striving 
while they march to push their heads into the clouds. There are no horses in 
Hongkong, the coolies carr3dng chairs on bamboo poles, or trotting with two- 
wheelers, an untiring substitute for quadrupeds, and locomotion on the streets or 
in the boats is swift and sure. I had an address to find in the city, on a tip at 
Manila of the presence of a literary treasure, and my chairmen carried me, in a 
few minutes, to a tall house on a tall terrace, and the works of a martyr to liberty 
in the Philippines were located. The penalty for the possession of these books 
in Manila was that of the author executed by shooting in the back in the pres- 
ence of a crowd of spectators. The cost of the carriers was thirty cents in silver — 
fifteen cents in United States money — and the men were as keen-eyed as they were 
sure-footed, and the strength of their tawny limbs called for admiration. They were 
not burdened with clothes, and the play of the muscles of their legs was like a 
mechanism of steel, oiled, precise, easy aiid ample in force. The China took on a 
few hundred tons of coal, which was delivered aboard from heavy boats by the 
basketful, the men forming a line, and so expert were they at each delivery, the 
baskets were passed, each containing about half a bushel — perhaps there were sixty 
baskets to the ton — at the rate of thirty-five baskets in a minute. Make due allow- 
ances and one gang would deliver twenty tons of coal an hour. The China was 
anchored three-quarters of a mile from the landing, and a boat ride was ten cents, 
or fifteen if you were a tipster. The boats are, as a rule, managed by a man and his 
wife; and, as it is their own, they keep the children at home. The average famihes on 
the boats — and I made several counts — were nine, the seven children varying from one 
to twelve years of age. The vitaHty of the Chinese is not exhausted, or even 
impaired. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 

Glimpses of China and Japan on the Way Home from the Philippines — Hongkong 
a Greater Gibraltar — Coaling the China — Gangs of Women Coaling the China 
— How the Japanese Make Gardens of the Mountains — Transition from the 
Tropics to the Northern Seas — A Breeze from Siberia — A TTiousand Miles 
Nothing on the Pacific — Talk of Swimming Ashore. 

Formosa was so far away eastward — a crinkled line drawn faintly with a fine blue 
pencil, showing as an artistic scrawl on the canvass of the low clouds — we could 
hardly claim when the sketch of the distant land faded from view^ that we had seen 
Japan. When Hongkong, of sparkling memory, was lost to sight, the guardian 
walls that secluded her harbor, closing their gates as we turned away, and the head- 
lands of the celestial empire grew dim, a rosy sunset promised that the next day 
should be pleasant, our thoughts turned with the prow of the China to Japan. We 
w^ere bound for Nagasaki, to get a full supply of coal to drive us across the Pacific, 
having but twelve hundred tons aboard, and half of that wanted for ballast. It was 
at the mouth of the harbor of Nagasaki that there was a settlement of Dutch 
Christians for some hundreds of years. An indiscreet letter captured on the way 
to Holland by a Portuguese adventurer and maliciously sent to Japan, caused the 
tragic destruction of the Christian colony. The enmity of Christian, nations anxious 
to add to their properties in the islands in remote seas was so strong that any one 
preferred that rather than his neighbors might aggrandize the heathen should pre- 
vail. The first as well as the last rocks of Japan to rise from and sink into the prodi- 
gous waters, through which w^e pursued our homeward way, bathing our eyes in the 
delicious glowing floods of eastern air, were scraggy with sharp pinnacles, and sheer 
precipices, grim survivals of the chaos that it was, before there w^as light. I have 
had but glimpses of the extreme east of Asia, yet the conceit will abide with me that 
this is in geology as in history the older world, as we classify our continents, that 
a thousand centuries look upon us from the terrible towers, lonesome save for the 
flutter of white wings, that witness the rising of the constellations from the greater 
ocean of the globe. But there are green hills as we approach Nagasaki, and on a 
hillside to the left are the white walls of a Christian church with a square tower, 
stained with traditions of triumphs and suffering and martyrdom long ago. Nagasaki 
is like Hongkong in its land-locked harbor, in clinging to a mountain side, in the 

350 



KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 351 

circle of illumination at night and the unceasing paddling of boats from ship to 
ship and between the ships and landings. One is not long in discovering that here 
are a people more alert, ingenious, self-confident and progressive than the Chinese. 
As we approached the harbor there came to head us off, an official steam launch, with 
men in uniform, who hailed and commanded us to stop. Two officers with an 
intense expression of authority came aboard, and we had to give a full and par- 
ticular account of ourselves. Why were we there? Coaling. Where w^re we from? 
Manila and Hongkong. Where were we going? San Francisco. Had we any sick- 
ness on board? No. We must produce the ship doctor, the list of passengers, and 
manifest of cargo. We had no cargo. There were a dozen passengers. It was dif- 
ficult to find fault with us. No one was ill. We wanted coal. What was the matter? 
We had no trouble at Hongkong. We could buy all the coal we wanted there, but 
preferred this station. We had proposed to have our Avarships cleaned up at Nagasaki, 
but there were objections raised. So the job went to the docks at Hongkong, and 
good gold with it. AYhy was this? Oh yes; Japan wanted, in the war between the 
United States and Spain, to be not merely formall}', but actually neutral! The 
fact is that the Japanese Empire is not pleased with us. They had, in imperial cir- 
cles, a passion for Honolulu, and intimated their grief. Now they are annoyed 
because that little indemnity for refusing the right to land Japanse labor was 
paid by the Hawaiian Government before the absorption into the United States. 
As the Hawaiian diplomatic correspondence about this was conducted with more 
asperity than tact, if peace were the purpose, it was a good sore place for the 
Japanese statesmen to rub, and they resent in the newspapers the facile and cheap 
pacification resulting from the influence of the United States. In addition the 
Japanese inhabitants, though they have a larger meal than they can speedily digest 
in Formosa, are not touched with unqualified pleasurable feeling because we have 
the Philippines in our grasp. If Japan is to be the great power of the Pacific, it is 
inconvenient to her for us to hold the Hawaiian, the Aleutian and the Philippine 
groups of islands. The Philippines have more natural resources than all the islands 
of Japan, and our Aleutian Islands that are waiting for development would prob- 
ably be found, if thoroughly investigated, one of our great and good bargains. The 
average American finds himself bothered to have to treat the Japanese seriously, 
but we must, for they take themselves so, and are rushing the work on new ships of 
w^ar so that they will come out equal with ourselves in sea power. They have ready 
for war one hundred thousand men. If we did not hold any part of the Pacific 
Coast, this might be a matter of indifference, but we have three Pacific States, and 
there is no purpose to cede them to the Japanese. It would not be statesmanship 



352 KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 

to give up the archipelagoes we possess, even if we consider them as lands to hold for 

the hereafter. It is not deniable that the Japanese have good reason to stand off for 

strict examination the ships of other nations that call at their ports. The British 

and Chinese have had an experience of the bubonic plague at Hongkong, and the 

Japanese are using all the power of arms and the artifice of science they possess to 

keep aloof from the disastrous disease^ which is most contagious. The China had 

called at Hongkong, and hence the sharp attentions at a coaling station where there 

are about seventy-five thousand inhabitants of the Japanese quarters, which are an 

exhibit of Old Japan, and most interesting. Nagasaki has, indeed, the true Japanese 

flavor. If there had been a sick man on our ship we should have been quarantined. 

Further on we were halted in the night off the city of Kobe, to the sound of the 

firing of a cannon, for we had dropped there a passenger, Mr. Tilden, the Hongkong 

agent of the Pacific Mail line, and if our ship had been infected with plague he might 

have passed it on to Japan! I had gone to bed, and was called up to confront the 

representative of the Imperial Government of the Japanese, and make clear to his 

eyes that I had not returned on account of the plague. Authorities of Japan treat 

people who are quarantined in a way that removes the stress of disagreeableness. 

All are taken ashore and to a hospital. There is furnished a robe of the country, 

clean and tidy in all respects. The common clothing is removed and fumigated. 

It is necessary for each quarantined person to submit to this and also to a bath, which 

is a real luxury, and after it comes a cup of tea and a light lunch. There was an 

actual case of plague on an American ship at this city of Kobe not long ago, at least, 

it was so reported with pretty strong corroborative evidence. The symptom in the 

case on the ship was that of a fever, probably pneumonia. The man was landed 

and examined. The plague fever resembles pneumonia at an early stage. The 

Japanese physicians found signs of plague and the end came soon. The sick man, 

taken ashore in the afternoon, at nine o'clock was dead, transferred at once to the 

crematory, in two hours reduced to ashes, and the officers of the ship informed that 

if they wanted to carry the "remains" to America they would be sealed in a jar and 

certified. The ship's officers did not want ashes, and the Japs hold the jar. They 

are so "advanced" that cremation is becoming a fad with them. It would not be 

surprising to find that the impending danger of the Japanese is excessive imitative 

progress, which is not certain to be exactly the right thing for them. They have 

reached a point where it is worth while to examine the claim of new things with 

much care before adopting them. We have very high authority to examine all things 

for goodness sake, before committing ourselves to hold them fast. We had to take 

aboard eighteen hundredtonsof coalatNagasaki. Afleet of arks with thirty tons of Jap- 



KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 353 

•anese coal approaclied and gathered around the ship, which has sixteen places to throw 
coal into the bunkers. So the coal business was carried on by from twelve to fifteen 
^angs, each of about ten men and twent}' women! The latter were sturdy creatures, 
modestly attired in rough jackets and skirts. There were not far from thirty bamboo 
baskets to the gang. One man stood at the porthole, and each second emptied a 
coal basket, using both hands, and throwing it back into the barge with one hand, 
the same swing of the arm used to catch the next basket hurled to him with a quick, 
quiet fling. There were three men of a gang next the ship, the third one standing 
in the barge, served with baskets by two' strings of women. At the end of the string 
furthest from the ship the coal was shoveled into the baskets by four men, and there 
were two who lifted and whirled them to the women. The numbers and order of 
the laborers varied a little at times from this relation, yet very little, but frequently a 
lump of coal was passed without using a basket. The work of coaling was carried 
on all night, and about thirty-six hours of labor put in for a day. There was a great 
deal of talking among the laborers during the few moments of taking places, and 
some of it in tones of high excitement, but once the human machine started there was 
silence, and then the scratching of the shovels in the coal, and the crash of the coal 
thrown far into the ship were heard. It is, from the American contemplation, 
shocking for women to do such work, but they did their share with unflinching 
assiduity, and without visible distress. When the night work was going on they were 
evidently fatigued, and at each change that allowed a brief spell of waiting, they 
were stretched out on the planks of the boats, the greater number still, but some of 
the younger ones talking and laughing. There did not seem to be much flirtation, 
nothing like as much as when both sexes of Europeans are engaged in the same wheat 
or barley field harvesting. There were, it is needful to remark, neither lights nor 
shadows to invite the blanishments of courting. The coal handling women were 
from fifteen to fifty years of age, and all so busy the inevitable babies must have been 
left at home. I have never seen many American or European babies '"good" as 
weary mothers use the word, as the commonest Japanese kids. They do not know 
how to cry, and a girl of ten years will relieve a mother of personal care by carrying a 
baby, tied up in a scarf, just its head sticking out (I wish they could be induced to 
use more soap and water on the coppery heads, from which pairs of intent eyes stare 
out with sharp inquir}-, as wild animals on guard). The girl baby bearer, having tied 
the child so that it appears to be a bag, slings it over her shoulder, and it interferes 
but slightly with the movements of the nurse; does not discernibly embarrass her 
movements. The men colliers, it must be admitted, are a shade reckless in the 
.scarcity of their drapery when they are handling baskets in the presence of ladies. 



354 KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 

They do usually wear shirts with short tails behind, and very economical breech-- 
cloths, but their shirts are sleeveless, and the buttons are missing on collar and 
bosom. The only clothing beneath the knees consists of straw sandals. The 
precipitation of perspiration takes care of itself. There are no pocket handkerchiefs. 

Nagasaki has good hotels, a pleasant, airy European quarter, and shops stored, 
with the goods of the country, including magnificent vases and other pottery that 
should meet the appreciation of housekeepers. There is no city in Japan more 
typically Japanese, few in which the line is so finely and firmly drawn between the 
old and the new, and that to the advantage of both. 

It is hardly possible for" those who do not visit Japan to realize wdiat a bitter 
struggle the people have had with their native land, or how brilliant the victory they 
have won. The passage of the China through the inner sea and far along the coast 
gave opportunity to see, as birds might, a great deal of the country. The inner sea is 
a wonderfully attractive sheet of water, twice as long as Long Island Sound, and 
studded with islands, a panorama of the picturesque mountains everywhere, deep 
nooks, glittering shoals, fishing villages by the sea, boats rigged like Americans, 
■flocks of white sails by day, and lights at night, that suggest strings of street lamps. 
The waters teem with life. Evidently the sea very largely affords industry and sus- 
tenance to the people, for there is no bottom or prairie land, as we call the level or 
slightly rolhng fields in America. There was not a spot from first to last visible in 
Japan, as seen from the water, or in an excursion on the land, where there is room to 
turn around a horse and plow. The ground is necessarily turned up with spades and 
mellowed with hoes and rakes, all, of course, by human hands. This is easy com- 
pared with the labor in constructing terraces. The mountains have been conquered 
to a considerable extent in this way, and it is sensational to see how thousands of 
steep places have been cut and walled into gigantic stairways, covering slopes that 
could hardly answer for goat pasture, until the shelves with soil placed on them 
for cultivation have been wrought, and the terraces are like wonderful ladders bearing 
against the skies. So rugged is the- ground, however, that many mountains are 
unconquerable, and there are few traces of the terraces, though here and there, viewed 
from a distance, the evidences that land is cultivated as stairways leaning against 
otherwise inaccessible declivities. I have never seen elsewhere anything that spoke 
so unequivocably of the endless toil of men, women and children to find footings 
upon which to sow the grain and fruit that sustain life. It is not to be questioned 
that the report, one-twelfth, only of the surface of Japan is under tillage, is accu- 
rate. The country is more mountainous than the Alleghenies, and some of it barren 
as the wildest of the Eockies on the borders of the bad lands, and it is vokanic, re- 



KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN, 855 

markably so, even more subject to earthquakes than the Philippines. The whole of 
Japan occupies about as much space as the two Dakotas or the Philippines^ and 
the population is forty-two millions. With work as careful and extensive as that 
of the agricultural mountaineers of Japan, the Dakotas would support one hundred 
jnillion persons. But they w^ould have to present the washing away of the soil and 
the waste through improvident ignorance or careless profligacy of any fertilizer, or 
•of any trickle of water needed for irrigation. One of the features of the terraces is 
that the rains are saved by the walls that sustain the soil, and the gutters that guide 
the water conserve it, because paved with pebbles and carried down by easy stages, 
-irrigating one shelf after another of rice or vegetables, whatever is grown, until 
the whole slope not irreclaimable is made to blossom and the mountain torrents 
:saved in their descent, not tearing away the made ground, out of which the means 
of hving grows, but percolating through scores of narrow beds, gardens suspended 
like extended ribbons of verdure on volcanic steeps, refreshing the crops to be at last 
ripened by the sunshine. This is a lesson for the American farmer — to be studied 
more closely than imitated — to grow grass, especially clover, to stop devastation by 
creeks, with shrubbery gifted wdth long roots to save the banks of considerable 
streams, and, wdiere there is stone, use it to save the land now going by every fresh- 
water rivulet and rivers to the seas, to the irreparable loss of mankind. It is the 
duty of man who inherits the earth that it does not escape from him, that his 
inheritance is not swept away by freshets. We are growing rapidly, in America, in 
the understanding of this subject, beginning to comprehend the necessity of giving 
the land that bears crops the equivalent of that which is taken from it, that the 
vital capital of future generations may not be dissipated and the people grow ever 
poor and at last perish. 

A ride in a jinrikisha, a two-wheeler, with a buggy top and poles for the biped 
horse to trot between, from Nagasaki to a fishing village over the mountains, .five 
miles away, passing at the start through the Japanese quarter, long streets of shops, 
populous and busy, many diligent in hght manufacturing work, and all scant in. 
clothing — the journey continuing in sharp climbs alongside steep places and beside 
deep ravines, the slopes elaborately terraced, and again skirting the swift curves of a 
rapid brook from the mountains, that presently gathered and spread over pretty 
beds of gravel, providing abundant fresh water bathing, in which a school of boys, 
leaving a small guard for a light supply of clothing ashore— the ride ending in a 
village of fishermen that, by the count of the inhabitants, should be a town— per- 
mitted close observation of the Japanese in a city and a village, on their sky-scraping 
gardens and in the road, going to and coming from market, as well a? in ]ilaees of 



356 KODAK SXAPPKD AT JAPAN. 

roadside entertainment; and at last a seaside resort, in whose shade a party of globe- 
trotters were lunching, some of them, I hear, trying to eat raw fish. There could 
hardly have been contrived a more instructive exhibit of Japan and the Japanese. 
The road was obstructed in several places by cows bearing bales of goods from the 
city to the country, and produce from the hanging gardens to the streets, an occa- 
sional horse mustered in, and also a few oxen. The beast of burden most frequently 
overtaken or encountered was the cow, and a majority of the laborers were women. 
There were even in teams of twos and fours, carrying heavy luggage, men and women, 
old, middle-aged and }Oung, barefooted or shod with straw, not overloaded, as a rule, 
and some walking as "if they had performed their tasks and were going home. On the 
road it was patent there was extraordinary freedom from care as to clothing, and no 
feeling of prejudice or dismay if portions of it esteemed absolutely essential in North 
America and Europe had been left behind or was awaiting return to the possessor. 
This applies to both sexes. The day was warm, even hot, and the sun shone fiercely 
on the turnpike — for that is what we would call it — making walking, with or without 
loads, a heating exercise. E^en the bearing of baskets, and the majority of the 
W'Omen carried them, was justification under the customs of the country for baring 
the throat and chest to give amjole scope for breathing, and there is no restriction in 
the maintenance of the drooping lines of demarkation, according to the most liberal 
fashionable allowances, in dispensing with all the misty suggestions of laces to the 
utmost extent artists could ask, for the study of figures. Beauty had the advan- 
tage of the fine curves of full inhalations of the air that circulated along the dusty 
paths between the sea and the mountains. It is a puzzle that the artists of Japan 
have not better improved the unparalleled privilege of field and wall sketching, that 
they enjoy to a degree not equalled within the permission of the conventional con- 
struction of that which is becoming in the absence of the daylight habilaments 
of any great and polite people. The art schools of Japan, out of doors, on the 
highway, even, cannot fail to produce atuTOspheric influences of which the world will 
have visions hereafter, and the Latin quarter of Paris will lose its reputation that 
attracts and adjusts nature to inspiration. 

When we had succeeded, at Kobe, in convincing the authorities that none of the 
passengers on the China had picked up the plague at Hongkong, we put out into the 
big sea, and shaped our course for the fairer land so far away, not exactly a straight 
line, for the convexity of the earth that includes the water, for the ocean — particu- 
larly the Pacific — is rounded so that the straightest line over its surface is a curved 
line, if astronomically mentioned. We struck out on the great Northern circle, pur- 
pofino- to run as lii.ah as the forty-eighth parallel, almost to our Alutian Islands, 



KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 357 

and pursued our course in full view, the bald cliffs of Japan changing their color with 
the going down of the sun. When morning came the purple bulk of the bestirring 
httle empire still reminded us of the hghts and shadows of Asia and the missionary 
labors of Sir Edwin Arnold, which have a flavor of the classics and a remembrance 
of the Scriptures. "Yonder/' said the Captain, "is the famous mountain of Japan^ 
Eugeyana. "It is not very clearly seen, for it is distant. Oh, you are looking too 
low x:lown and see only the foot-hills — that is it, away up in the sky!" It was 
there, a peak so lofty that it is solitary. We were to have seen it better later, but 
as the hours passed there was a dimness that the light of declining day did not dis- 
perse, and the mountain stayed with us in a ghostly way, and held its own in high 
communion. 

As we were leaAdng Asian waters there came a demand for typhoons that the 
Captain satisfied completeh^, saying he was not hunting for them, but the worst one 
he ever caught was five hundred miles east of Yokohama. The tourists were rather 
troubled. The young man who had been in the wild waltz of the Zealandia did not 
care for a typhoon. We had been blessed with weather so balmy and healing, winds 
so soft and waves so low, that the ship had settled down steady as a river >.teamboat. 
We pushed on, but the best the China could do was fourteen knots and a half an 
hour, near 350 knots a day, with a consumption of 135 tons of coal in twenty-four 
hours. So much for not having been cleaned up so as to give the go of the fine lines. 
The China had been in the habit of making sixty miles a day more than on this 
trip, burning less than 100 tons of coal. As we climbed in the ladder of the parallels 
of latitude, we began to notice a crispness in the air, and it was lovely to the lungs. 
It was a pleasure, and a stimulant surpassing wine, to breathe the north temperate 
ozone again, and after a while to catch a frosty savor on the breeze. We had for- 
gotten, for a few days, that we were not in a reeking state of perspiration. Ah I we 
were more than. a thousand miles north of Manila, and that is as far as the coast of 
Maine to Cuba. The wind followed us, and at last gained a speed greater than our 
own; then it shifted and came down from the northwest. It was the wind that 
swept from Siberia, and Kamschatka's grim peninsula pointed us out. The smoke 
from our funnels blew black and dense away southeast, and did not cliange more 
than a point or two for a week. The Pacific began to look like the North Atlantic. 
There came a "chill out of a cloud" as in the poetic case of Annabel Lee. Tliere 
had been, during our tropical experience, some outcries for the favor of a few chills, 
but now they were like the typhoons. AYhen it was found that they might be had we 
did not want them. After all, warm weather was not so bad, and the chills that 
were in the wind that whistled from Siberia were rather objectionable. It was 



858 KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 

singular to call for one^ two, three blankets, and then hunt up overcoats. White 
•trousers disappeared two or three da3^s after the white coats. Straw hats were called 
for by the wind. One white cap on an officer's head responded alone to the swarm 
of white caps on the water. ' The roll of the waves impeded our great northern circle. 
We could have made it, but we should have had to roll with the waves. We got no 
higher than 45 degrees. We had our two Thursdays, and thought of the fact that on 
the mystical meridian 180, where three days get mixed up in one! The Pacific 
Ocean, from pole to pole, so free on the line where the dispute as to the day i.t 
is, goes on forever, that only one small island is subject to the witchery of mathe- 
matics, and the proof in commonplace transactions unmixed with the skies that what- 
ever may be the matter with the sun — the earth do move, is round, do roll over, and 
does not spill off the sea in doing so. At last came shrill head winds, and as we 
added fifteen miles an hour to this speed, the harp strings in the rigging were 
touched with weird music, and we filled our lungs consciously and conscientiously 
wdth American air, experiencing one of the old sensations, better than anything new. 
It AYas figured out that we were within a thousand miles of the continent, and 
were getting home. When one has been to the Philippines, what's a thousand miles 
or two! ^'Hello, Captain Seabury! It is only about a thousand miles right ahead 
to the land. You knov/ what land it is, don't you? Well, now, you may break the 
shaft or burst the boilers, fling the ship to the sperm whales, like the one that was 
the only living thing we saw since Japan entered into the American clouds of the 
West. We are only a thousand miles away from the solid, sugary sweet, redolent, 
ripe American soil, and if there is anything the matter we do not mind, why we 
will just take a boat and pull ashore." But we would have had a hard time if the 
Oaptain had taken us up in the flush of the hilarity that laughed at a thousand miles, 
when the breeze brought us the faint first hints that we were almost home, after a 
voyage of five thousand leagues. The wind shifted to the south and increased 
until it roared, and the waves were as iron tipped with blue and silver, hurling 
their salty crests over our towering ship; and we were in the grasp — 

On the Pacific of the terrific 
Storm King of the Equinox. 

Mr. Longfellow •mentioned the storm wind gigantic, that shook the Atlantic at 
the tim.e of the equinox— the one that urges the boiling surges bearing seaweed from 
the rocks; and all those disappointed because they had not bounded on the billows 
of the briny enough for healthy exercises, were satisfied in the reception by the tre- 
mendous Pacific when nigh the shore, which was once the western boundary, but 
is so no more, of that blessed America, of which her sons grow fonder the farther 





\ 




I^VHH 


^^ '"^ ^^'^m 


H^Kt" "~ (""""^^uj^^B^Brf'*. 


€v \:,' '" - : 


R^^«^«M^iaiiii'^ 


S^..-4^i^K^ 


.-S^'V ■-^'''- *%*■: J 






' - =*Wr**X,^ 







SPAXTARDS REPELLING INSURGENT'S. ATTACK ON A COXVENT. 




BUSINESS CORNER IN MANILA 





A NATIVE IX REGIMENTALS. 



A COUNTRY PAIR. 





PEASANT COSTUMES. 



WOODMAN IN WORKING GARB. 



KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. 359 

they roam, (jod's country, as the bo3-s and girls call it reverently, when they are 
sailing the seas, was veiled from iis in a fog that blanketed the deep. For five 
thousand miles our ship had been in a remorseless solitude. No voice had come to 
us; no spark of intelligence from the universe touched us, save from the stars 
and the sun, but at the hour of the night, and the point of the compass, our navigator 
had foretold, we should hear the deep-throated horn on Eeyes point — it came 
to us out of the gloomy abyss — and science had not failed. Across the trackless 
waste we had been guided aright, and there was music the angels might have envied 
in the hoarse notes of the fog-horn that welcomed the wanderers home. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

OUE PICTUEE GALLERY. 

Annotations and Illustrations — Portraits of Heroes of the War in the Army and 
Xavy, and of the Highest Public Responsibilities— Admirals and Generals, 
the President and Cabinet — Photographs of Scenes and Incidents — The 
Characteristics of the Filipinos — Their Homes^ Dresses and Peculiarities in 
Sun Pictures — The Picturesque People of Our Xew Possessions. 

The portrait of President McKinley is from the photograph that seems to his 
friends upon the whole the most striking of his likenesses. That of the Secretary 
of State, the Honorable John Hay, is certainly from the latest and best of his 
photos. The Postmaster General, the Honorable Charles Emory Smith, and Secre- 
tary Bliss, are presented in excellent form and the whole Cabinet 
with unusual faithfulness. Our naval and military heroes in the war 
that has introduced the American nation to the nations of the earth as a belligerent 
of the first class, cannot become too familiar to th'e people, for they are of the stuff 
that brightens with friction, and the more it is worn gives higher proof that it is 
of both the precious metals in war, gold and steel. 

Admiral Dewey, as we have set forth in this volume, is not thus far fairly dealt 
with in the pictures that have been taken. He is a surprise to those who meet him 
face to face — so far has photography failed to adequately present him, but the 
portrait we give is the .best that has been made of him. 

Major-General Merritt retains the keen, clear cut face, and the figure and bearing 
of an ideal soldier that has characterized him since, as a youth just from West Point, 
he entered the army and won his way by his courage and courtesy, his brilHant conduct 
and excellent intelligence, his dashing charges and superb leadership, to a distin- 
guished position and the affectionate regard of the army and the people. In the 
Indian wars, after the bloody struggle of the States was over, he outrode the Indians 
on the prairies and was at once their conqueror and pacificator. He ranks in chiv- 
alry with the knights, and his work at Manila was the perfection of campaigning 
that produced conclusive results with a comparatively small shedding of blood. 

The likeness of the Archbishop of Manila was presented me by His Grace at 
the close of a personal interview, and represents him as he is. The chapter devoted 
to him is meant to do him simple justice as a man and priest. The fact that he 
bestowed upon me in the inscription with which he greatly increased the value of his 

360 



OUR PICTURP: gallery. 361 

portrait a military dignity to which I have no title is an expression only of his friend- 
liness. He frankly stated his pleasure in meeting an American who would convey to 
the President of the United States the message he gave me about the American 
army^ to which he was indebted for security and peace of mind. 

General Aguinaldo gave me his photograph, and the flag of the Filipinos with 
him in the effort to establish an independent government, republican in form. One 
is not always sure of that which happens in the Philippines, even when one reads 
about it. I am prepared to believe that there is much truth in the dispatch saying 
a majority of the Congress of the insurgents at Molores favor annexation to the 
United States. The whole truth probably is that they would gladly have this country 
their Protector at large, supreme in the affairs international, they to legislate in re- 
spect to local affairs. They need to know, however, that their Congress must be- 
come a territorial legislature, and that the higher law for them is to be the laws of 
Congress. The Philippine flag is oriental in cut and color, having red and blue bars 
— a white obtuse angle — the bt se to the staff, and a yellow moon with fantastic dec- 
orations occupying the field. This flag is one that Admiral Dewey salutes with re- 
spect. General Aguinaldo is giving much of his strength to the production of 
proclamations, and his literary labors should be encouraged. 

On a September morning two years ago, Dr. Jose Rizal was shot by a file of 
soldiers on the Manila Luneta, the favorite outing park, bordering on the bay. The 
scene was photographed at the moment the Doctor stood erect before the firing squad, 
and the signal from the officer in command was awaited for the discharge of the 
volley killing the most intellectual man of his race. Dr. Rizal is known as the 
Tagalo Martyr. The Tagalos are of the dominant tribe of Malays. General Aguin- 
aldo is of this blood, as are the great majority of the insurgents. The Doctor is 
more than the martyr of a tribe. He is the most talented and accomplished 
man his people and country has produced. A history of Luzon from his pen is a 
bulky volume full of facts. I was not able to procure all of his books. Anyone in 
Manila found in possession of one of them during Spanish rule, would have been 
taken to the ground selected for human butchery in the appointed place of fes- 
tivity, and shot as he was, making a holiday for the rulers of the islands. He wrote 
two nove]s, "Touch Us Not" and "The Filibusters," the latter a sequel of the former. 
These are books using the weapons put into the hand of genius to smite oppressors- 
in command of the force of arms. The novels are said to be interesting as novels, 
—rather sensational in their disregard of the personal reputation of his foes, the friars, 
but all along between the lines there was argument, appeals for the freedom of the 



162 OUK PICTURE GALLEKY. 

Filipinos, for freedom of speech, conscience and country. There are pamphlets 
printed the size of an average playing card, from thirty to forty pages each, one 
"Don Rodriguez," and another "The Telephone." These I obtained in Hongkong 
from the hands of the niece— daughter of the sister of the Doctor,— and she pre- 
sented me also his poem written when in the shadow of death, of which this volume 
gives a prose translation. The poem is the farewell of the author to his friends, 
his country and the world. It is given in prose because in that style the spirit of the 
poet, indeed the poetry itself, can be rendered with better results, than by striving to 
sustain the poetic form. The poem would be regarded as happy and affecting in 
the thought that is in it, the images in which the ideas gleam, the pathos of resig- 
nation, the ascendency of hope, if there were nothing in the attendant circumstances 
that marked it with the blood of historic tragedy. This poetry that it wonld have 
'been high treason to own in Manila, for it would not have been safe in any drawer 
however secret, was treasured by the relatives of the martyr at Hongkong. The 
niece spoke excellent English, and there was at once surprise and gratification in the 
family that an American should be interested in the Doctor who sacrificed himself to 
the freedom of his pen, so much as to ascend the steep places of the city to seek his 
writings for the sake of the people for whose redemption he died. On the page 
showing the face of the Doctor and the scene of his execution, there are two men 
in black, the victim standing firm as a rock to be shot down, and the priest retiring 
after holding the crucifix to the lips of the dying; and the portrait of the beautiful 
woman to whom the poet was married a few hours before he was killed. It is said 
that Rizal wanted to go to Cuba, but Captain-General Weyler answered a request 
from him that he might live there, that he would be shot on sight if he set foot 
on Cuban soil. Rizal, hunted hard, attempted to escape in disguise on a Spanish 
troop ship carrying discharged soldiers to Spain, but was detected while on the 
Red Sea, returned to Manila and shot to death. I stood on the curbstone that bor- 
ders the Luneta along the principal pleasure drive, between the whispering trees 
and the murmuring surf of the bay, just where the martyred poet and patriot waited 
and looked over the waters his eyes beheld, the last moment before the crash of the 
rifles that destroyed him, and in the distance there was streaming in the sunshine the 
flag of our country— the star spangled banner, and long, long may it wave, over a 
land of the free and home of the brave! 

The picture of the cathedral shows a tower that was shattered from the founda- 
tion to the cross by the earthquake of 1863. Ambitious architecture must conform to 
the conditions imposed by such disasters, and the great edifice is greatly changed. 



OUR PICTUEE GALLERY. 36J 

In our gallery we treat Admirals Sampson and Schley as the President set the 
example. As there was glory for all at Santiago, there was advancement for both. 
We present them together. The wholesome, manly face of General Lee is in the 
gallery. His country knows him and thinks of him well. 

The bombarded church of Cavite shows that shells spare nothing sacred in their 
flights and concussions. The Bridge of Spain is the one most crossed in passing 
between the old walled city and the newer town that was not walled, but was for- 
midably intrenched where rice swamps were close to the bay. The pubhc buildings 
are commodious and would be higher, but the earth is uncertain, and sky-scraperg 
are forbidden by-common prudence. Our picture of the principal gate of the walled 
city is taken truly, but does not give the appearance of extreme antiquity, of the 
reality. The wall looks old as one that has stood in Europe a thousand years. 

Naturally the gallery has many works of art representative of Manila. The 
shipping in the habor is an advertisement of a commerce once extensive. Each 
picture that shows a woman, a man, or tree; a wood-cutter, a fisherman, or a house, 
opens for the spectator a vista that may be interpreted by the intelligent. A verit- 
able picture is a window that reveals a landscape. That which is most valuable in 
a gallery like this is the perfect truth not everywhere found, for, the eyes that see 
a picture that is really representatiA^e, setting forth the colors, the light, and the 
substance of things find that which does not fade when the story is told. 

There is one most hideous thing in our gallery — that of the head of a Spaniard, 
bleeding, just severed from the body — the weapon used, a naked dagger in a clenched 
hand — around the ghastly symbol a deep black border. This is one of the ways 
of the Katapuna society — the League of Blood — have of saying what they would 
have us understand are their awful purposes. There are terrible stories about this 
Blood League — that they bleed themselves in the course of their proceedings, and 
each member signs his name with his own blood — that they establish brotherhood 
by mingling their blood and tasting it. They are the sworn enemies of the Span- 
iards, and particularly of the priests. I inquired of Senor Agoncillo, the Philippine 
commissioner to Paris, whether those bloody stories w^ere true. He scoffed at the 
notion that they might be so, and laughed and shouted ^'No, no!" as if he was having 
much fun. But Agoncillo is a lawyer and a diplomat, and I had heard so much 
of this horrid society I did not feel positive it was certain that its alleged blood 
rites were fictitious. Of one thing I am sure — that the dreadful picture is no Joke; 
and was not meant for a burlesque, though it might possibly be expected to px^r- 
form the office of a scarecrow. It cannot be doubted that there are oath-bouni 



864 OUR PICTURE GALLERY. 

secret societies that are regarded by the Spaniards as fanatical, superstitious, mur- 
derous and descrying death. 

There is a good deal of feeble-minded credulity among the Fihpinos, that is 
exhibited in the stories told by Aguinaldo. He has many followers who believe that 
he has a mighty magic, a charm, that deflects bullets and is an antidote for poison. 
Intelligent people beheve this imbecility is one of the great elements of his power — 
that his leadership would be lost if the supernaturalism attached to him should go 
the way of all phantoms. Aguinaldo is said not to have faith in the charm, for 
he takes very good care of himself. 

^Ye give several views of executions at Manila. As a rule, these pictures are not 
fine productions of art. They are taken under such conditions of light and back- 
ground that they are somewhat shadowy. This sinister addition to our gallery 
seems to be the first time the photographs of executions have been reproduced. The 
photos were not furtively taken. There is no secrecy about the process^ no at- 
tempts to hide it from the Spaniards. Executions in the Philippines were in the 
nature of dramatic entertainments. There were often many persons present, and 
ladies as conspicuous as at bull fights. There is no more objections offered to pho- 
tographing an execution than a cock fight, which is the sport about which the 
Filipinos are crazily absorbed. It is the festal character to the Spaniard of the 
rebel shooting that permits the actualities to be reproduced, and hence these strange 
contributions to our gallery. 

Many of our pictures are self-explanatory. They were selected to show things 
characteristic, and hence instructive, peasants' customs — women riding buffaloes 
through palm groves — native houses, quaint costumes. "The insurgent outlook" re- 
veals a native house — a structure of grasses. This is a perfect picture. The south- 
ern islanders, and the group of Moors, the dressing of the girls, work in the fields, the 
wealth of vegetation, the dining room of the Governor-General prepared for com- 
pany, General Merritfs palatial headquarters before he had taken the public prop- 
erty into his care and suited it to his convenience; the Spanish dude officer, show- 
ing a young man contented in his uniform, and a pony pretty in his harness. 

We reproduce the war department map of the PhiHppine islands. It will be 
closely studied for each island has become a subject of American interest. The 
imprint of the war department is an assurance of the closest attainable accuracy. The 
map of the Hawaiian islands clearly gives them in their relative positions and pro- 
portions as they are scattered broadcast in the Pacific. The Philippine and Hawaiian 
groups as they thus appear will be found more extensive than the general fancy has 



OUE PICTUEE GALLERY. 365 

painted them. The Philippine Archipelago has been held to resemble a fan, with 
Luzon for the handle. The shape is something fantastic. It is worth while to note 
that the distance between the north coast of Luzon and the Sulu Archipelago is 
equal to that from England to Southern Italy. 

There are pictures in our gallery that could only be found at the end of a journey 
of ten thousand miles, and they go far to show the life of the people of a country that 
is in such relations with ourselves the whole world is interested. There is truth- 
telling that should be prized in photography, and our picture gallery is one of the 
most remarkable that has been assem^bled. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 

Conditions In and Around Havana — Fortifications and lYater Supply of the Capital 
City — Other Sections of the Pearl of the Antilles — Porto Rico, Our New 
Possession, Described — Size and Population — Natural Resources and Pro- 
ducts — Climatic Conditions — Towns and Cities — Railroads and Other Im- 
provements — Future Possibilities. 

There was the fortune of good judgment in attacking the Spaniards in Cuba 
at Santiago and Porto Rico, the points of Spanish possession in the West Indies 
farthest south and east, instead of striking at the west, landing at Pinar del Rio, 
the western province, and moving upon the fortifications of Havana, where the diffi- 
culties and dangers that proved so formidable at Santiago would have been cjuad- 
rupled, and our losses in the field and hospital excessive. The unpreparedness of this 
country for war has not even up to this time been appreciated except by military 
experts and the most intelligent and intent students of current history. The mili- 
tary notes prepared in the AYar Department of the United States at the beginning 
of the war with Spain, contain the following of Santiago de Cuba: 

This city was founded in 1514, and the famous Hernando was its first mayor. It 
is the most southern place of any note on the island, being on the twentieth degree 
of latitude, while Havana, the most northern point of note, is 23 degrees 9 minutes 
26 seconds north latitude. The surrounding country is very mountainous, and the 
city is built upon a steep slope; the public square, or Campo de Marte, is 110 to 
160 feet above the sea, and some of the houses are located 200 feet high. The charac- 
ter of the soil is reported to be more volcanic than calcareous; it has suffered re- 
peatedly from earthquakes. It is the second city in the island with regard to popu- 
lation, slightly exceeding that of Matanzas and Puerto Principe. So far as Ameri- 
can commerce is concerned, it ranks only ninth among the fifteen Cuban ports of 
entry. It is located on the extreme northern bank of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, 
a harbor of the first class and one of the smallest; hence, as is believed, the great lia- 
bility of its shipping to infection. According to the chart of the Madrid hydro- 
graphic bureau, 1863, this harbor is, from its sea entrance to its extreme northern 
limit, 5 miles long, the city being located 4 miles from its entrance, on the north- 
eastern side of the harbor. The entrance is for some little distance very narrow — 

366 



CUBA AXD POETO RICO. 367 

not more than 220 yards wide — and may be considered about 2 miles long, with 
a width varying from one-eighth to five-eighths of a mile. For the remaining 3 
miles the harbor gradually v,ddens, until at its northern extremity it is about 2 miles 
wide. The city is so situated in a cove of the harbor that the opposite shore is 
only about one-half mile distant. At the wharves from 10 to 15 feet of water is 
founds and within 300 to 500 yards of the shore from 20 to 30 feet. This^ therefore, 
is probably the anchorage ground. Three or more so-called rivers, besides other 
streams, empty into this harbor, and one of these, the Caney River, empties into the 
harbor at the northern limit of the cit}^, so that its water flows from one island ex- 
tremity through the whole harbor into the sea. The difference here, as elsewhere 
in Cuba, between low and high tide is about 2 feet. Population in 1877 was 1:0.835, 
and 5,100 houses. This city is one of the most noted yellow-fever districts in the 
island. The population in 1896 was 42^000. 

The following has been reported: 

Preparations for mounting new and heavy ordnance is now going on at the en- 
trance of the bay (March 5, 1898). 

Xew and heavier guns are also ordered for Punta Blanca, on the right of the bay 
near Santiago City. 

Plans have been made for constructing two batteries in the city of Santiago, 
one about 25 yards in front of the American consulate and the other about two 
blocks in rear. 

Cayo Rolones, or Rat Island, located near the middle of the bay, is the Govern- 
ment depository for powder, dynamite, and other explosives. 

The elevation on the right of the entrance, where stands Castle Morro, is 10 
yards above the sea level, while the hill on the left is 20 yards. 

"La Bateria Nueva de la Estrella" is mounted with four revolving cannons. 

The fortifications of Havana were carefully covered in the military notes, and 
thus enumicrated: 

There are fifteen fortifications in and about the city of Havana, more or loss 
armed and garrisoned, besides a work partly constructed and not armed, called Las 
Animas, and the old bastions along the sea wall of the harbor. These works arc as 
follows : 

Nos. 1 and 2 are earthen redans on the sea coast, east of Havana. 

Yelazo Battery, just east of, and a part of, El Morro. 

El Morro, a sea coast fort, with flanking barbette batteries, cast of harbor entrance. 



^68 CUBA AND PORTO RICO. ' 

g Twelve Apostles, a water battery lying at the foat of Morro, with a field 
across the harbor's mouth. It is a part of Morro. 

Cabana, a stone-bastioned work with both land and water front, in rear of EI 
x,a.^i-xv^; and directly opposite the city of Havana. 

San Diego, a stone-bastioned work with only land fronts, east of Cabana. 

Atares, a stone-bastioned work on hill at southwestern extremity of Havana Bay, 
near the old shipyard called the arsenal. 

San Salvador de la Punta, a stone-bastioned work west of harbor entrance, with 
small advanced and detached work, built on a rock" near harbor mouth. 

La Reina, a stone work, in shape the segment of a circle, placed on the seacoast, 
at western limits of city, on an inlet called San Lazardo. 

Santa Clara, a small but powerful seacoast battery of stone and earth, placed 
about IJ miles west of harbor. 

El Principe, a stone-bastioned redoubt west of Havana. 

ISTos. 3 A, 3 B, and 4 are earthen redans on the seacoast west of Havana. 

There are, in addition, several works built for defense, but now used for other 
purposes or abandoned. These are: 

The Torreon de Vigia, a martello tower placed on the inlet of San Lazaro opposite 
3ina. 
e old fort called La Fuerza, built three hundred and fifty years ago, near the 
■ Plaza de Armas, and now used for barracks and public ofi&ces. 
.e work called San Nazario, situated north of El Principe, but now used in 
-connection with the present cartridge factory, abandoned for defensive purposes. 

The partially constructed fort called Las Animas, southeast of Principe, lying 
on a low hill, partly built but useless and unarmed. 

The old sea wall extending from near La Punta to the Plaza de Armas, unarmed, 
-and useless except as a parapet for musketry. 

The old arsenal, on the west of the inner bay, now used as repair works for 
ships, useless for defense. 

The old artillery and engineer storehouses near La Punta, probably once used as 
strongholds, now mere storehouses for munitions of war. 

There are, besides, in the vicinity of Havana, three old and now useless stone 
works — one at Chorrera, the mouth of the Almendarez River, about 4 miles from 
Havana harbor; another at Cojimar, on the coast, about 3 miles eastward of Cabana, 
-and the third at the inlet called La Playa de Mariano, about 7 miles west of Havana. 



CUBA AND POETO EICO. 369 

Batteries Nos. 1 and 2 were equipped with, No. 1, four Hontoria 6-inch guns; 
two Nordenfeldt 6-pounders; No. 2, two Krupp 12-inch guns; four Hontoria 
3-inch mortars. The 12-inch Krupps were to stand off battleships attempting to 
force the harbor, or to bombard the Morro. The Valago battery, a part of the Morro, 
an out-work on the edge of the cliff, mounting four 11-inch Krupp guns separated by 
earth traverses. 

The Morro, commenced in 1589 and finished in 1597, is important for historical 
associations. It is a most picturesque structure, and is useful as a lighthouse and 
prison, and is mounted with twelve old 10-inch, eight old 8-inch, and fourteen 
old 4-inch guns. 

Cabana, finished in 1774 at a cost of $14,000,000, lies some 500 yards southeast 
of El .Morro, on the east side of Havana Bay. Toward the city it exposes a vertical 
stone wall of irregular trace, with salients at intervals. Toward the Morro is a 
bastioned face protected by a deep ditch, sally port, and drawbridge. Eastward and 
southward a beautifully constructed land front incloses the work. This front is 
protected by ditches 40 or more feet deep, well constructed glacis, stone scarp, and 
counterscarp. Cabana is a magnificent example of the permanent fortifications 
constructed a century ago. Probably 10,000 men could be quartered jn it. 

The entrance to Cabana is by the sally port that opens upon the bridge across the 
moat lying between Cabana and El Morro. Upon entering, the enormous extent of 
the work begins to be perceived, parapet within parapet, galleries, casemates, and 
terrepleins almost innumerable, all of stone and useless. There are no earth covers 
or traverses, and no protection against modern artillery. 

Cabana is the prison for offenders against the State, and the scene of innumer- 
able executions. From an exterior or salient corner of the secretary's office of the 
headquarters there leads a subterranean passage 326 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, 
and 1.86 high, excavated in the rock. It conducts to the sea, debouching at the 
mouth of a sewer, 87 meters from the Morro wharf. At exactly 132 meters along 
the road rising from the Morro pier or wharf to the Cabana, there will be found 
by excavating the rock on the left of the road, at a depth of 3 meters, a grating, on 
opening which passage will be made into a road 107 meters long, 1.6 liigh, and 1.42 
wide, leading- to the same exit as the Cabana secret way. These passages are most 
secret, as all believe that the grating of the sewer, seen from the sea, is a drain. 

The battery of Santa Clara is the most interesting of the fortifications of Havana, 
and one of the most important. It lies about 100 yards from the sliore of the gulf, 
at a point where the line of hills to the westward runs back (either naturally or 



370 CUBA AND POETO EICO. 

artificially) into quarries, thus occiiioying a low salient backed by a hill. Here are 
three new Krupp 11-inch guns, designed to protect El Principe, the land side of 
Havana. It is 187 feet above sea level and completely dominates Havana, the bay, 
Morro, Cabana, the coast northward, Atares, and from east around to south, the ap- 
proaches of the Marianao Eoad, Cristina, and the Western Eailroad for about 3 kilo- 
meters, i. e., between Cristina and a cut at that distance from the station. Principe 
gives fire upon Tulipan, the Cerro, the Hill of the Jesuits, and the valley through 
which passes the Havana Eailroad, sweeping completely with its guns the railroad 
as far as the cut at Cienaga, 2^ to 3 miles away. It dominates also the hills south- 
ward and westward toward Puentes Grandes and the Almendarez Eiver, and country 
extending toward Marianao, also the Calzada leading to the cemetery and 
toward Chorrera; thence the entire sea line (the railroad to Chorrera is 
partly sheltered by the slope leading to Principe. This is by all means the strongest 
position about Havana which is occupied. Lying between it and the hill of the Cerro 
is the hill of the Catalan Club, right under the guns of the work and about one-half 
mile away. The Marianao Eoad is more sheltered than the Havana, as it runs near 
the trees and hill near the Cerro. The only points which dominate the hill of the 
Principe lie to the south and southeast in the direction of Jesus del Monte and be- 
yond Eegla. On its southern, southeastern, and southwestern faces the hill of Prin- 
cipe is a steep descent to the calzada and streets below. The slope is gradual west- 
ward and around b}^ the north. From this hill is one of the best views of Havana 
and the valley south. El Principe lies about one-half mile from the north coast, 
from which hills rise in gradual slopes toward the work. It is Havana gossip that 
El Principe is always held by the Spanish regiment in which the Captain-General 
has most confidence. The military notes pronounce El Principe undoubtedly the 
strongest natural position about Havana now occupied by defensive works. Its 
guns sweep the heights of the Almendares, extending from the north coast south- 
ward by the hills of Puentes Grandes to the valley of Cienaga, thence eastward across 
the Hill of the Jesuits and the long line of trees and houses leading to the Cerro. 
The country beyond the Cerro is partly sheltered by trees and hills, but eastward El 
Principe commands in places the country and the bay shore, and gives fire across 
Havana seaward. 

The most vulnerable spot in the defenses of Havana is the aqueduct of Isabella 
n, or the Vento. The water is from the Yento Springs, pure and inexhaustable, nine 
miles out of Havana. 

All three of the water supplies to Havana, the Zanja and the two aqueducts of 



CUBA AND POETO EICO. 371 

Ferdinand VII and of the Vento^ proceed from the Ahnendares and run their course 
near to each other, the farthest to the west being the Zanja and to the east the Yento. 

At Vento Springs is constructed a large stone basin, open at the bottom, through 
which springs bubble. From this reservoir the new aqueduct leads. It is an ellip- 
tical tunnel of brick, placed under ground, and marked by turrets of brick and 
stone placed along its course. 

From the Vento Reservoir the new aqueduct crosses the low valley south of 
Havana, following generally the Calzada de Vento, which becomes, near the Cerro, 
the Calzada de Palatino, to a point on the Western Eailway marked 5 kilometers 
(about); hence the calzada and the aqueduct closely follows the railway for about a 
mile, terminating at a new reservoir. 

The Vento water is the best thing Havana has, and indispensable. The old 
sources of supply are intolerable. The main water supply is the Zanja. Through- 
out the most of its course this river flows through unprotected mud banks; the fluids 
of many houses, especially in the Cerro ward which it skirts, drain into them; men, 
horses, and dogs bathe in it; dead bodies have been seen floating in it, and in the 
rainy season the water becomes very muddy. In fine, the Zanja in its course receives 
all which a little brook traversing a village and having houses and back yards on its 
banks would receive. The w^ater can not be pure, and to those who know the facts 
the idea of drinking it is repulsive. This supply had long been insufficient to the 
growing city, and in 1835 the well-protected and excellent aqn.Teduct of Ferdinand 
VII was completed. It taps the Almendares Eiver a few hundred yards above filters 
mentioned, hence carried by arches to the east El Cerro, and for some distance 
nearly parallel to the Calzada del Cerro, but finally intersecting this. These works 
are succeeded by the Famous Vento. When Havana is fought for hereafter the 
fight will be at the Vento Springs. This remark is not made in the military notes, 
but the mihtary men know it well. When General Miles expected to attack Havana 
he procured all the accessible surveys and detail of information, official and through 
special observation and personal knowledge obtainable of the water works. Life 
could not be sustained many days in the city of Havana without the water of the 
adorable Vento. 

A special interest attaches to Havana, as it is to be a city under the control of 
the Hnited States. The surface soil consists for the most part of a thin layer of 
red, yellow, or black earths. At varying depths beneath this, often not exceeding 
1 or 2 feet, lie the solid rocks. These foundation rocks are, especially in the north- 
ern and more modern parts of the city toward the coast of the sea and not of the 



372 CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 

harbor^ Quarternary, and especially Tertiaiy^ formations, so permeable that liquids 
emptied into excavations are absorbed and disappear. 

In other parts of the city the rocks are not permeable, and pools are formed. 
In proportion as the towns of Cuba are old, the streets are narrow. In Havana 
this peculiarity is so positive that pedestrians cannot pass on the sidewalks, nor 
vehicles on the streets. Less than one-third of the population live on paved streets, 
and these are as well paved and kept as clean, it is believed cleaner, than is usual in 
the United States. The remainder live on unpaved streets, which, for the most 
part, are very filthy. Many of these, even in old and densely populated parts of the 
city, are no better than rough country roads, full of rocks, crevices, mud holes, and 
other irregularities, so that vehicles traverse them with difficulty at all times, and 
in the rainy season they are sometimes impassible for two months. Rough, muddy, 
or both, these streets serve admirably as permanent receptacles for much decom- 
posing animal and vegetable matter. Finally, not less, probably more, than one- 
half the population of Havana live on streets which are constantly in an extremely 
insanitary condition, but these streets, though so numerous, are not in the beaten 
track of the pleasure tourist. 

In the old intramural city, in which live about 40,000 people, the streets vary in. 
width, but generally they are 6.8 meters (about 22 feet wide, of which the side- 
walks occupy about 7.5 feet. In many streets the sidewalk at each side is not even 
18 inches wide. In the new, extramural town, the streets are generally 10 meters 
(32.8 feet) wdde, with 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) for the sidewalks, and 7 meters (23 
feet) for the wagonway. There are few sidewalks in any except in the first four 
of the nine city districts. 

More than two-thirds of the population live in densely inhabited portions of the 
city, where the houses are crowded in contact with each other. The average house 
lot does not exceed 27 by 112 feet insize. There are 17,259 houses, of which 15,494: 
are one-story, 1,552 are two stories, 186 are three stories, and only 27 are four stories, 
with none higher. At least 12 in every 13 inhabitants live in one-story houses; and 
as the total civil, military, and transient population exceeds 200,000 there are more 
than 12 inhabitants to every house. Tenement houses may have many small rooms, 
but each room is occupied by a family. Generally the one-story houses have four or 
five rooms; but house rent, as also food and clothing, is rendered so expensive by 
taxation, by export as well as import duties, that it is rare for workmen, even when paid 
$50 to $100 a month, to enjoy the exclusive use of one of these mean little houses; 
reservino- one or two rooms for his familv, he rents the balance. This condition of 



CUBA AXD PORTO RICO. 373 

affairs is readily understood when it is known tliat so great a necessity •d< flour 
cost in Havana $15.50 when its j^rice in the United States was $6.50 per barrel. 

In the densely populated portions of the city the houses generally have no back 
yard, |)roperly so called, but a flagged court, or narrow vacant space into which sleep- 
ing rooms open at the side, and in close proximity with these, at the rear of this con- 
tracted court are located the kitchen, the privy, and often a stall for animals. In 
the houses of the poor, that is, of the vast majority of the population, there are 
no storerooms, pantries, closets, or other conveniences for household supplies. These 
are furnished from day to day, even from meal to meal, by the corner groceries; 
and it is rare, in large sections of Havana, to find any one of the four corners of 
a square without a grocery. 

The walls of most of the houses in Havana are built of "mamposteria" or- 
rubble masonry, a porous material which freely absorbs atmospheric as well as 
ground moisture. The mark of this can often be seen high on the walls, which 
varies from 2 to 7 feet in the houses generally. The roofs are excellent, usually 
flat, and constructed of brick tiles. The windows are, like the doors, unusually- 
high, nearly reaching the ceiling, which, in the best houses only, is also unusually 
high. The wdndows are never glazed, but protected by strong iron bars on the out- 
side and on the inside by solid wooden shutters, which are secured, like the doors,, 
with heavy bars or bolts, and in inclement weather greatly interfere with proper ven- 
tilation. Fireplaces wdth chimneys are extremely rare, so that ventilation depends 
entirely on the doors and windows, wdiich, it should be stated, are by no means 
unusually large in most of the sleeping rooms of the poor. Generally in Havana, 
less generally in other cities, the entrances and courtyards are flagged with stone, 
while the rooms are usually floored -w4th tile or marble. With rare exceptions the 
lowest floor is in contact with the earth. Ventilation between the earth and floor 
is rarely seen in Cuba. In Havana the average height of the ground floor is from 
7 to 11 inches above the pavement, but in Havana, and more frequently in other 
Cuban towns, one often encounters houses which are entered by stepping down from 
the sidewalk, and some floors are even below the level of the street. In Havana 
some of the floors, in Matanzas more, in Cardenas and Cienfuegos many are of the 
bare earth itself, or of planks raised only a few inches above the damp ground. 

The narrow entrance about 400 yards in width and 1,200 in length, opens into 
the irregular harbor, which has three chief coves or indentations, termed "ensena- 
das." The extreme length of the harbor from its sea entrance to the limit of the 
most distant ensenada is 3 miles, and its extreme breadth H miles: but within the 



374 CUBA Ai^D POETO RICO. 

entrance the average length is only about 1, and the average breadth about two-thirds 
of a mile. However, because of the irregularly projecting points of land which form 
the ensenadas, there is no locality in the harbor where a vessel can possibly anchor 
farther than 500 yards from the shore. Its greatest depth is about 40 feet, but the 
anchorage ground for vessels drawing 18 feet of water is very contracted, not exceed- 
ing one-half the size of the harbor. The rise and fall of the tide does not exceed 
2 feet. 

The Cuban city next in celebrity to Havana is Matanzas, and it is one likely to 
become a favorite of Americans, as the country in the vicinity is distinguished by 
beauty as well as remarkable for fertility. Matanzas was first regularly settled in 
1693. It is in the province of Matanzas, 54 miles west of Havana, by the most di- 
rect of the two railroads which unite these two cities, and is situated on the western 
inland extremity of the bay of Matanzas, a harbor of the first class. Matanzas is 
divided into three districts, viz, the central district of Matanzas, which, about half 
a mile in width across the center of population, lies between the two little rivers, 
San Juan to the south, and the Yumuri to the north; the Pueblo Nuevo district, 
south of the San Juan, and around the inland extremity of the harbor; and the dis- 
trict of Versalles, north of the Yumuri, nearest to the open sea, as also to the an- 
chorage ground, and, sanitarily, the best situated district in the city. About two- 
thirds of the population are in the district of Matanzas, and the Pueblo Nuevo district 
has about double the population of Versalles. Pueblo Nuevo stands on ground 
originally a swamp, and is low, flat, and only 3 or 4 feet above the sea. The Ma- 
tanzas district has many houses on equally low ground, on the harbor front, and on 
the banks of the two rivers which inclose this district; but from the front and be- 
tween these rivers the ground ascends, so that its houses are from 2 to even 100 feet 
above the sea; however, the center of population, the public square, is only about 20 
feet above sea level. Versalles is on a bluff of the harbor, and its houses are situated, 
for the most part, from 15 to 40 feet above the sea. The district of Matanzas has 
ill constructed and useless sewers in only two streets, and no houses connected 
therewith. So much of this district and of Versalles as is built on the hill slope is 
naturally well drained, but the Pueblo Nuevo district, and those parts of Matanzas 
built in immediate proximity to the banks of the river, are very ill drained. 

Since 1872 Matanzas has had an aqueduct from the Bello spring, 7 miles distant. 
The supply is alleged to be both abundant and excellent. But of the 4,710 houses 
in the city 840 stand on the hills outside the zone supplied by the waterworks, while 
of the remaining 3,870 houses within this zone only about 2,000 get their water 



CUBA AXD PORTO RICO. 375 

from the waterworks company. Hence more than half of the houses of Matanzas 
^2,710) do for the most part get their supply in kegs by purchase in the streets. 
There are a few public fountains^ as also some dangerous wells. The streets are 
30 feet wide, with 24 feet w^agon way. Few of them are paved, some are very pooi 
roads, but, for the most part, these roads are in good condition. In the Matanzas dis- 
i;rict some of the streets are of solid stone, and natural foundation rock of the place, 
ior the superficial soil is so thin that the foundation rocks often crop out. Of this 
Tery porous rock most of the houses are built. The houses have wider fronts, larger 
.-air spaces in rear, are not so crowded, and are better ventilated than the houses of 
Havana. As is usual in Cuba, the ground floors are generally on a level with the 
.sidewalk, and some are even below the level of the streets. A heavy rain floods many 
of the streets of Matanzas, the water running back into and beneath the houses. The 
porous limestone of which the houses are built greatly favors absorption. 

The population of Matanzas and suburbs was about 50,000 at the beginning of 
the war. 

Porto Rico is not quite as large as Connecticut, but larger than the States of Del- 
aware and Rhode Island. The climate of the island is delightful, and its soil exceed- 
ingly rich. In natural resources it is of surpassing opulence. The length of the 
island is about one hundred miles, and its breadth thirty-five, the general figure of 
it being like the head of a sperm whale. The range of mountains is from east to 
ivest, and nearly central. The prevalent winds are from the northwest, and the 
Tainfall is much heavier on the northern shores and mountain slopes than on the 
^southern. The height of the ridge is on the average close to 1,500 feet, one bold 
peak, the Anvil being 3,600 feet high. The rainy north and the droughty south, 
with the lift of the land from the low shores to the central slopes and rugged eleva- 
tions, under the tropical sun, with the influence of the great oceans east, south and 
north, and the multitude of western and southern islands, give unusual and charm- 
ing variety in temperature. Porto Rico is, by the American people, even more than 
the Spaniards, associated with Cuba. But is is less than a tenth of Cuban propor- 
tions. Porto Rico has 3,600 square miles to Cuba's 42,000, but a much greater 
proportion of Porto Rico than of Cuba is cultivated. Less than one-sixteenth of 
the area of Cuba has been improved, and while her population is but 1,600,000, ac- 
-cording to the latest census, and is not so much now, Porto Rico, with less than a 
tenth of the land of Cuba, has half the number of inhabitants. Largely Porto 
Eico is peopled by a better class than the mass of the Cubans. Cuba is wretchedly 
provided with roads, one of the reasons why the Spaniards were incapable of putting 



376 CUBA AXD PORTO EICO. 

down insurrections. If they had expended a fair proportion of the revenues de- 
rived from the flourishing plantations and the monopolies of Spanish favoritism^, 
that built up Barcelona and enriched Captain-Generals, and in less degree other public- 
servants, the rebellions would have been put down. The Spanish armies in Cuba, 
however, were rather managed for official speculation and peculation, were more- 
pronunaders than in military enterprise and the stern business of w^ar. With 
We'yler for an opponent, Gomez, as a guerilla, could have dragged on a series of 
skirmishes indefinitely. The story of the alleged war in Cuba between the Span- 
iards and the Cubans was on both sides falsified, and the American people deceived.. 
Porto Rico does not seem to have appealed so strongly to the cupidity of the Span- 
iards as Cuba did, and to have been governed with less brutality. The consequence- 
is there has not been a serious insurrection in the smaller island for seventy years^. 
and it falls into our possession without the impoverishment and demoralization of 
the devastation of war — one of the fairest gems of the ocean. 

It was October 18th that the American flag was raised over San Juan. The fol- 
lowing dispatch is the official record: 

"San Juan, Porto Rico, Oct. 18. — Secretary of War, Washington, D. C: Flags, 
have been raised on public buildings and forts in this city and saluted with national 
salutes. The occupation of the island is now complete. 

"BROOKE, Chairman.^^ 

On the morning of the 18th, the 11th regular infantry with two batteries of the 
5th artillery landed. The latter proceeded 4o the forts, while the infantry line^ 
up on the docks. It was a holiday for San Juan and there were many people in the^ 
streets. Rear-Admiral Schley and General Gordon, accompanied by their staffs,. 
proceeded to the palace in carriages. The 11th infantry regiment and band with 
Troop H, of the 6th United States cavalry then marched through the streets and. 
formed in the square opposite the palace. 

At 11:40 a. m., General Brooke, Admiral Schley and General Gordon, the United^ 
States evacuation commissioners, came out of the palace with many naval officers-^ 
and formed on the right side of the square. The streets behind the soldiers were- 
thronged with townspeoeple, who stood waiting in dead silence. 

At last the city clock struck 12, and the crowds, almost breathless and with eyes- 
fixed upon the flagpole, watched for developments. At the sound of the first gun 
from Fort Morro, Major Dean and Lieutenant Castle, of General Brooke's staff,. 
hoisted the stars and stripes, while the band played "The Star Spangled Banner."' 
All heads were bared and the crowds cheered. Fort- Morro, Fort San Cristobal and 



CUBA AND POKTO EICO. 377 

the United States revenue cutter Manning, lying in the harbor, fireJ twenty-one 
guns each. 

Senor Munoz Eivera, who was president of the recent autonomist council of sec- 
retaries, and other officials of the late insular government were present at the pro- 
ceedings. Many American flags were displayed. 

Acknowledgment has been made of the better condition of Porto Rico than of 
Cuba, but the trail of the serpent of colonial Spanish government appears. Mr. 
Alfred Somamon writes in the Independent: 

"The internal administration of the island disposes of a budget of about $3,300,- 
000, and is a woeful example of corrupt officialism. Of this sum only about $650,000 
is expended in the island, the remainder being applied to payment of interest on 
public debt, salaries of Spanish officials, army, navy, and other extra-insular ex- 
penditures. But the whole of the revenue is collected in the island." 

An article of great value by Eugene Deland, appeared in the Chatauquan of 
September, on the characteristics of Porto Eico, and we present an extract, showing 
its admirable distinction of accurate information well set forth: 

"The mountain slopes are covered with valuable timbers, cabinet and dye-woods, 
including mahogany, w^alnut, lignum vitae, ebony, and logwood, and various medic- 
inal plants. Here, too, is the favorite zone of the coffee tree, which thrives best one 
thousand feet above sea level. The valleys and plains produce rich harvests of sugar- 
cane and tobacco. The amount of sugar yielded by a given area is said to be greater 
than in any other West Indian island. Eice, of the mountain variety and grown 
without flooding, flourishes almost any place and is a staple food of the laboring 
classes. In addition to these products cotton and maize are commonly cultivated, 
and yams, plantains, oranges, bananas, cocoanuts, pineapples, and almost every other 
tropical fruit are grown in abundance. Among indigenous plants are several noted 
for their beautiful blossoms. Among these are the coccoloba, which grows mainly 
along the coasts and is distinguished by its large, yard-long purple spikes, and a 
talauma, with magnificent, ororous, white flow^ers. 

"Of wild animal life Porto Eico has little. No poisonous serpents are found, 
but pestiferous insects, such as tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, ticks, fleas, and 
mosquitos, supply^ this deficiency in a measure. All sorts of domestic animals are 
raised, and the excellent pasture-lands support large herds of cattle for export and 
home consumption, and ponies, whose superiority is recognized throncliont Uu^ Wo^t 
Indies. 

"The mineral wealth of the island is undeveloped, but traces of gold, copper, iron. 



378 CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 

lead, and coal are found. Salt is procured in considerable quantities from the lakes. 
"Porto Rico carries on an extensive commerce, chiefly with Spain, the United 
States, Cuba, Germany, Great Britain, and France. In 1895 the yolume of its trade 
was one-half greater than that of the larger British colony — Jamaica. The United 
States ranks second in amount of trade with the island. During the four years from 
1893-96 Spain's trade with the colony averaged $11,402,888 annually, and the United 
States, $5,028,544. The total value of Porto Rican exports for 1896 was $18,341,-= 
430, and of imports, $18,282,690, making\ a total of $36,624,120, which was an 
excess over any previous year. The exports consist almost entirely of agricultural 
products. In 1895 coffee comprised about sixty per cent, and sugar about twenty- 
eight per cent, of their value; leaf tobacco, molasses, and honey came next. Maize, 
hides, fruits, nuts, and distilled spirits are also sent out in considerable quantities. 
Over one-half of the coffee exported goes to Spain and Cuba, as does most of the to- 
bacco, which is said to be used in making the finest Havana cigars; the sugar and 
molasses are, for the most part, sent to the United States. Among imports, manu- 
factured articles do not greatly exceed agricultural. Rice, fish, meat and lard, 
flour, and manufactured tobacco are the principal ones. Customs duties furnish 
about two-thirds of the Porto Rican revenue, which has for several years yielded 
greater returns to Spain than that of Cuba. 

"The climate of Porto Rico is considered the healthiest in the Antilles. The 
heat is considerably less than at Santiago de Cuba, a degree and a half farther north. 
The thermometer seldom goes above 90 degrees. Pure water is readily obtained in 
most of the island. Yellow fever seldom occurs, and never away from the coast. The 
rainy season begins the first of June and ends the last of December, but the heavy 
downpours do not come on until about August 1st. 

"In density of population also this island ranks first among the West Indies, 
having half as many inhabitants as Cuba, more than eleven times as large. Of its 
807,000- people, 326,000 are colored and many of the others of mixed blood. They 
differ little from other Spanish- Americans, being fond of ease, courteous, and hos- 
pitable, and, as in other Spanish countries, the common people are illiterate, public 
education having been grievously neglected. The natives are the agriculturists of 
the country, and are a majority in the interior, while the Spaniards, who control 
business and commerce, are found mainly in the towns and cities. 

"The numerous good harbors have naturally dotted the seaboard with cities 
and towns of greater or less comnxcreial importance. San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, 
Aguadilla, Arecibo and Fajardo all carry on extensive trade. Intercourse between 



CUBA AXD PORTO RICO. 379 

coast towns is readily had by water, but is to be facilitated by a railroad around 
the island, of which 13T miles have been built and 170 miles more projected. The 
public highways of the island are in better condition than one might expect. Ac- 
cording to a recent report of United States Consul Stewart, of San Juan, there are 
about one hundred and fifty miles of good road. The best of this is the military high- 
way connecting Ponce on the southern coast with. San Juan on the northern. This is 
a macadamized road, so excellently built and so well kept up that a recent traveler 
in the island says a bicycle corps could go over it without dismounting. Whether 
it is solid enough to stand the transportation of artillery and heavy army trains we 
shall soon know. Of telegraph lines Porto Rico has four hundred and seventy 
miles, and two cables connect it with the outside world, one running from Ponce and 
the other from San Juan." 

Mr. Alfred Solomon, already quoted as an instructive contributor to the Inde- 
pendent, writes: 

"The population of Porto Rico, some 800,000, is essentially agricultural. A 
varied climate, sultry in the lowlands, refreshing and invigorating in the mountain 
ranges, makes possible the cultivation of almost every variety of known crop — suo-ar, 
tobacco, coffee, annatto, maze, cotton and ginger are extensively grown; but there are 
still thousands of acres of virgin lands awaiting the capitalist. Tropical fruits 
flourish in abundance, and the sugar-pine is well known in our market, where it 
brings a higher price than any other pine imported. Hardwood and fancy cabinet 
wood trees fill the forests, and await the woodman's ax. Among these are some 
specimens of unexampled beauty, notably a tree, the wood of which, when polished, 
resembles veined marble, and another, rivaling in beauty the feathers in a peacock's 
tail. Precious metals abound, although systematic effort has never been directed 
to the locating of paying veins. Rivers and rivulets are plenty, and water-power 
is abundant; and the regime should see the installation of power plants and electric 
lighting all over the island, within a short time after occupation. On the lowlands, 
large tracts of pasturage under guinea grass and malojilla feed thousands of sleek 
cattle, but, as an article of food, mutton is almost unknown. The native pony, 
small, wiry and untirable, has a world-wide reputation, and for long journeys is 
unequaled, possessing a gait, as they say in the island, like an arm-chair. 

"Perhaps a third of the population of the island is of African descent; but, 
strangely enough, the colored people are only to be found on the coast, and are 
the fishermen, boatmen and laborers of the seaports. The cultivation of the crops 
is entirely in the hands of the jibaro, or peasant, who is seldom of direct S->anish 



380 CUBA AXD PORTO EICO. 

descent, while the financiering and exportation is conducted almost entirely by 
peninsnlares, or Spanish-born colonists, who monopolize every branch of commerce 
to the exclusion of the colonian-born subject. 

"Coffee planting is largely engaged in, returning from ten to fifteen per cent, on 
capital. Improved transportation facilities, abolition of export dues and the con- 
solidation of small estates would, doubtless, help toward better results. This crop is 
marketed in Europe — London, Havre and Barcelona — where better prices are ob- 
tainable than in Ney^ York. With the exception of a few plantations in strong 
hands, most of this property could be purchased at a fair valuation, and would prove 
to be a very profitable investment. 

"Cocoa grows wild on the lowlands, 'but has not been cultivated to any apprecia- 
ble extent. Small consignments sent to Europe have been pronounced superior to the 
Caracas bean. The tree takes a longer period than coffee to come to maturity and 
bear fruit; but once in bearing the current expenses are less and the yield far 
greater. The same remarks apply to the cultivation of rubber, which, although a 
most profitable staple with an ever-increasing market, has received no attention 
whatever. 

'"Corn is raised in quantities insufficient for home consumption. Of this cereal 
three crops can be obtained in two years; sometimes two a year. The demand is 
constant, and the price always remunerative. 

"In Porto Rico, as in most other West Indian islands, sugar is king. In the 
treatment of this product the lack of capital has been sadly felt. Planters possess 
only the most primitive machinery, and in the extraction of the juice from the cane 
the proportion of saccharine matter has been exceedingly small. Great outlay is 
necessary for the installation of a complete modern crushing and centrifugal plant.'' 

A flattering picture of our new possessions is drawn in McClure's Magazine, by 
Mr. George B. Waldron. 

"Here, then, are Cuba and Porto Rico in the Atlantic, and the Hawaiian and 
Philippine groups in the Pacific, whose destiny has become intertwined with our own. 
Their combined area is 168,000 square miles, equahng New England, New York, 
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Their population is about 10,000,000, or perhaps 
one-half of that of these nine home States. The Philippines, with three-quarters 
of the entire population, and Porto Rico, with 800,000 people, alone approach our 
own Eastern States in density. Cuba, prior to the war, was about as well populated 
as Virginia, and the Hawaiian group is as well peopled as Kansas. What, then, can 
these islands do for us? 



CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 381 

^^Americans use more sugar in proportion to population than any other nation of 
the world. The total consumption last year was not less than 2,500,000 tons. This 
is enough to make a pyramid that would overtop the tallest pyramid of Egyptian 
lame. Of this total, 2,200,000 tons came from foreign countries, the Spanish pos- 
sessions and Hawaii sending about twent3'-five per cent. Five years earlier, when 
•our imports were less by half a million tons, these islands supplied double this 
quantity, or nearly two-thirds of the nation's entire sugar import. But that was 
before Cuba had been devastated by war and when she was exporting 1,100,000 tons 
of sugar to other countries. Restore Cuba to her former fertility, and the total sugar 
-crop of these islands will reach 1,500,000 tons_, or two-thirds our present foreign 
•demand.^' 

There is much more in Mr. Waldron's summary of the vast addition that has 
l)een made to our resources by the occupation and possession of the islands that 
have recently been gathered under our Vvdngs by the force of our arms. It is enough 
to know that with the tropical islands we have gained, we have in our hands the 
potentialities, the luxuries, the boundless resources including, as we may, and must, 
Alaska, of all the zones of the great globe that we inhabit in such ample measure. 

The following notes were compiled for the information of the army, and embody 
:all reliable information available. 

The notes were intended to supplement the military map of Porto Rico. The 
following books and works were consulted and matter from them freelv used in 
the preparation of the notes: Guia Geografico Militar de Espana y Provincias 
Ultramarinas, 1879; Espana, sus Monumentos y Artes, su N"aturaleza e Historia, 
1887; Compendio de Geografia Militar de Espana y Portugal, 1882; Anuario deComer- 
•cio de Espana, 1896; Anuario Militar-de Espana, 1898; Reclus, Nouvelle Geographic 
Universelle, 1891; Advance Sheets American Consular Reports, 1898; An Account 
-4)f the Present State of the Island of Porto Rico, 1831; The Statesman's Year Book, 
1898. 

Situation. — Porto Rico is situated in the Torrid Zone, in the easternmost part of 
the Antilles, between latitude 17 deg. 54 min. and 18 deg. 30 min. 40 sec. N". and 
longitude 61 deg. 54 min. 26 sec. and 63 deg. 32 min. 32 sec. AY. of Madrid. It is 
J)0unded on the north by the Atlantic, on the east and soiitli by the sea of the 
Antilles, and on the west by the Mona Channel. 

Size. — The island of Porto Rico, the fourth in size of the AntiHes, has. ac- 
cording to a recent report of the British consul (1897), an extent of about 3,668 



382 CUBA AXD POETO RICO. 

square miles — 35 miles broad and 95 miles long. It is of an oblong form, extending; 
from east to west. 

Population. — Porto Eico is the first among the Antilles in density of population, 
and in prosperit}^ The Statesman's Year Book, 1898, gives the population (1887)^ 
at 813,937, of which over 300,000 are negroes, this being one of the few countries 
of tropical America where the number of whites exceeds that of other races. The- 
whites and colored, however, are all striving in the same movement of civilization^, 
and are gradually becoming more alike in ideas and manners. Among the white 
population the number of males exceeds the number of females, which is the con- 
trary of all European countries. ' This is partly explained by the fact that the 
immigrants are mostly males. On an average the births exceed the deaths by double.. 
The eastern portion of the island is less populous than the western. 

Soil. — The ground is very fertile, being suitable for the cultivation of cane, coffee^, 
rice, and other products raised in Cuba, which island Porto Eico resembles in rich- 
ness and fertility. 

Climate. — The climate is hot and moist, the medium temperature reaching 104 
degs. F. Constant rains and winds from the east cool the heavy atmosphere of 
the low regions. On the heights of the Central Cordillera the temperature is healthy 
and agreeable. 

Iron rusts and becomes consumed, so that nothing can be constructed of this 
metal. Even bronze artillery has to be covered with a strong varnish to protect it; 
from the damp winds. 

Although one would suppose that all the large islands in the Tropics enjoyed 
the same climate, yet from the greater mortality observed in Jamaica, St. Domingo^, 
and Cuba, as compared with Porto Eico, one is inclined to believe that this latter 
island is much more congenial than any of the former to the health of Europeans.. 
The heat, the rains, and the seasons are, with very trifling variations, the same in all.. 
But the number of mountains and running streams, which are everywhere in view^ 
in Porto Eico, and the general cultivation of the land, may powerfully contribute- 
to purify the atmosphere and render it salubrious to man. The only difference of 
temperature to be observed throughout the island is due to altitude, a change which 
is common to every country under the influence of the Tropics. 

In the mountains the inhabitants enjoy the coolness of spring, while the valleys 
would be uninhabitable were it not for the daily breeze which blows generally from 
the northeast and east. For example, in Ponce the noonday sun is felt in all its rigor^ 
while at the village of Adjuntas, 4 leagues distant in the interior of the mounta^ins^ 



CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 



383 



the traveler feels invigorated by the refreshing breezes of a temperate clime. At one 
place the thermometer is a« high as 90 (leg., while in another it is someLiiiies under 
60 deg. Although the seasons are not so distinctly marked in tbis climate as they 
are in Europe (the trees being always green), yet there is a distinction to be made 
between them. The division into Avet and dry seasons (winter and summer) does not 
give a proper idea of the seasons in this island; for on the north coast it sometimes 
rains almost the whole year, wdiile sometimes for twelve or fourteen months not a 
drop of rain falls on the south coast. However, in the mountains at the south there 
are daily showers. Last year, for example, in the months of ISTovember, December, 
and January the north winds blew with violence, accompanied by heavy showers of 
rain, while this year (1832) in the same months, it has scarcely blown a whole day 
from that point of the compass, nor has it rained for a whole month. Therefore, 
the climate of the north and south coasts of this island, although under the same 
tropical influence, are essentially different. 

As in all troj)ical countries, the year is divided into two seasons — the dry and 
the rainy. In general, the rainy season commences in August and ends the last 
of December, southerly and westerly winds prevailing during this period. The rain- 
fall is excessive, often inundating fields and forming extensive lagoons. The exhala- 
tions from these lagoons give rise to a number of diseases, but, nevertheless, Porto 
Rico is one of the healthiest islands of the archipelago. 

In the month of May the rains commence, not with the fury of a deluge, as 
in the months of August and September, but heavier than any rain experienced in 
Europe. Peals of thunder reverberating through the mountains give a warning of 
their approach, and the sun breaking through the clouds promotes the prolific vegeta- 
tion of the fields yith its vivifying heat. The heat at this season is equal to the sum- 
mer of Europe, and the nights are cool and pleasant; but the dews are heavy and 
pernicious to health. The following meteorological observations, carefully made by 
Don Jose Ma. Vertez, a Captain of the Spanish navy, will exhibit the average range 
of temperature: 

Degrees of heat observed in the capital of Porto Rico, taking a mediuHi of five 
years. 

Degrees of Heat Observed in the Capital of Porto Rico, taking a Medioi op 

Five Years. 



Hours of the Day. 


i 

1-3 


1 


1 


< 


1 






be 
P 
< 


1 


1 

77 
85 
82 


> 
o 

75 

84 
80 


i 


Seven in the morning 


72 
83 
78 


721 
81" 
74 


74 

82 
78 


78 
83 
80 


78 
85 
81 


82 
86 
84 


85 
00 

87 


86 
92 
90 


801 
88* 
88 


75 


Noon 


80 


Five m the evening 


79 



384 CUBA AND PORTO EICO. 

Tlic v^eatlier, after a fifteen or twenty days' rain, clears up and the sun, whose 
lieat has been hitherto moderated by partial clouds and showers of rain, seems, as 
it were, set in a cloudless sky. The cattle in the pastures look for the shade of 
the trees, and a perfect calm pervades the whole face of nature from sunrise till be- 
tween 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning, when the sea breeze sets in. The leaves 
of the trees seem as if afraid to move, and the sea, without a wave or ruffle on its 
vast expanse, appears like an immense mirror. Man partakes in the general lan- 
^our as well as the vegetable and brute creation. 

The nights, although warm, are delightfully clear and serene at this season. 
Objects may be clearly distinguished at the distance of several hundred yards, so 
that one may even shoot by moonlight. The months of June and July offer very 
little variation in the weather or temperature. In August a suffocating heat reigns 
throughout the day, and at night it is useless to seek for coolness; a faint zephyr is 
succeeded by a calm of several hours. The atmosphere is heavy and oppressive, 
and the body, weakened by perspiration, becomes languid; the appetite fails, and 
the mosquitos, buzzing about the ears by day and night, perplex and annoy by their 
stings, while the fevers of the tropics attack Europeans with sudden and irresistible 
violence. This is the most sickly season for the European. The thermometer fre- 
quently exceeds 90 deg. The clouds exhibit a menacing appearance, portending 
the approach of the heavy autumnal rains, which pour down like a deluge. About 
the middle of September it appears as if all the vapors of the ocean had accumu- 
lated in -one point of the heavens. The rain comes down like an immense quantity 
of water poured through a sieve; it excludes from the view every surrounding 
object, and in half an hour the whole surface of the earth becomes an immense 
sheet of water. The rivers are swollen and overflow their banks, the low lands are 
completely inundated, and the smallest brooks become deep and rapid torrents. 

In the month of October the weather becomes sensibly cooler than during the 
preceding months, and in November the north and northeast winds generally set 
in, diffusing an agreeable coolness through the surrounding atmosphere. The body 
becomes braced and active, and the convalescent feels its genial influence. The 
north wind is accompanied (with few exceptions) by heavy showers of rain on 
the north coast; and the sea rolls on that coast with tempestuous violence, while 
the south coast remains perfectly calm. 

When the fury of the north wind abates, it is succeeded by fine weather and a 
clear sky. Nothing can exceed the climate of Porto Rico at this season; one can only 
v^mpare it to the month of May in the delightful Province of Andalusia, where the 



CUBA AXD POETO RICO. ^S'^ 

€old of winter and the burning heat of summer are tempered by the cool freshness 
of spring. This is considered to be the healthiest season of the 3'ear, when a Euro- 
pean may visit the tropics without fear. 

The small islands, destitute of wood and high mountains, i\diich have a powerful 
effect in attracting the clouds, suffer much from drought. It sometimes happens that 
in Curacao, St. Bartholomews, and other islands there are whole years without a 
drop of rain, and after exhausting their cisterns the inhabitants are compelled to 
import water from the rivers of other islands. 

"The land breeze" is an advantage which the large islands derive from the in- 
equality of their surface: for as soon as the sea breeze dies away, the hot air of the 
valleys being rarified, ascends toward' the tops of the mountains, and is there con- 
densed by cold, which makes it specifically heavier than it was before; it then de- 
scends back to the valleys on both sides of the ridge. Hence a night wind (blowing 
on all sides from the land toward the shore) is felt in all the mountainous countries 
under the torrid zone. On the north shore the wind comes from the south, and on 
the south shore from the north. 

Storms. — The hurricanes which visit the island, and which obey the general laws 
of tropical cyclones, are one of the worst scourges of the country. For hours before 
the appearance of this terrible phenomenon the sea appears calm; the waves come 
from a long distance very gently until near the shore, when they suddenly rise 
as if impelled by a superior force, dashing against the land with extraordinary 
violence and fearful noise. Together with this sign, the air is noticed to be disturbed, 
the sun red, and the stars obscured by vapor which seems to magnify them. A 
strong odor is perceived in the sea, which is sulphureous in the waters of rivers, and 
there are sudden changes in the wind. These omens, together with the signs of un- 
easiness manifested by various animals, foretell the proximity of a hurricane. 

This is a sort of whirlwind, accompanied by rain, thunder and light- 
ning, sometimes by earthquake shocks, and always by the most terri- 
ble and devastating circumstances that can possibly combine to ruin a 
country in a few hours. _ A clear, serene day is followed by the darkest night; the 
delightful view offered by woods and prairies is diverted into the deary waste of a 
cruel winter; the tallest and most robust cedar trees are uprooted, broken off bodity, 
and hurled into a heap; roofs, balconies, and windows of houses are carried through 
the air like dry leaves, and in all directions are seen houses and estates laid waste and 
throvrn into confusion. 

The fierce roar of the water and of the trees being destroyed by the winds, 



386 CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 

the cries and moans of persons^ the bellowing of cattle and neighing of horses^ 
which are being carried from place to place by the whirlwinds, the torrents of water 
inundating the fields, and a deluge of fire being let loose in flashes and streaks of 
lightning, seem to announce the last convulsions of the universe and the death 
agonies of nature itself. 

Sometimes these hurricanes are felt only on the north coast, at others on the 
south coast, although generally their influence extends throughout the island. 

In 1825 a hurricane destroyed the towns of Patillas, Maunabo, Yabucoa, Hu- 
macao, Gurabo, and Caguas, causing much damage in other towns in the east, norths 
and center of the island. The island was also visited by a terrible hurricane in 1772. 

Earthquakes. — Earthquakes are somewhat frequent, but not violent or of great 
consequence. The natives foretell them by noticing clouds settle near the ground 
for some time in the open places among the mountains. The water of the springs 
emits a sulphurous odor or leaves a strange taste in the mouth; birds gather in 
large flocks and fly about uttering shriller cries than usual; cattle bellow and 
horses neigh, etc. A few hours beforehand the air becomes calm and dimmed 
by vapors which arise from the ground, and a few moments before there is a slight 
breeze, followed at intervals of two or three minutes by a deep rumbling noise, 
accompanied by a sudden gust of wind, which are the forerunners of the vibration^ 
the latter following immediately. These shocks are sometimes violent and are usually 
repeated, but owing to the special construction of the houses, they cause no damage. 

Tides. — For seven hours the tide runs rapidly in a northwest direction, return- 
ing in the opposite direction with equal rapidity for five hours. 

Orography. — The general relief of Porto Rico is much inferior in altitude to that 
of the rest of the Great Antilles, and even some of the Lesser Antilles have mountain 
summits which rival it. 

A great chain of mountains divides the islands into two parts, northern and 
southern, which are called by the natives Banda del Norte and Banda del Sur. 
This chain sends out long ramifications toward the coasts, the interstices of which 
form beautiful and fertile valleys, composed in the high parts of white and red 
earths, on the spurs of black and weaker earths, and near the coasts of sand. 

To the northwest and following a direction almost parallel with the northern 
coast, the Sierra of Lares extends from Aguadilla to the town of Lares, where it 
divides into two branches, one going north nearly to the coast, near Arecibo harbor, 
and the other extending to the spurs of the Sierra Grande de Banos; this- 



CUBA AND POETO RICO. 387 

latter starting from Point Guaniquilla, crosses the island in its entire 
length, its last third forming the Sierra of Cayey. 

The whole island may be said to form a continuous network of sierras, hills, and 
heights. Of these the Sierra del Loquillo is distinguished for its great altitude 
(the highest peak being Yunque, in the northeast corner of the island and visible 
from the sea, a distance of 120 kilometers), as is also Laivonito Mountain, near the 
south coast. 

The following are the four highest mountains, with their heights above the 
sea level: Yunque, in Luquillo, 1,290 yards; Guilarte, in Adjuntas, 1,180 yards; 
La Somanta, in Aybonito, 1,077 yards; Las Tetas de Cerro Gordo, in San German, 
860 yards. All are easily ascended on foot or horseback^ and there are coffee plan- 
tations near all of them. 

Approximate Height of Towns Above the Sea Level. — Aybonito, with its accli- 
matization station, 970 yards; Adjuntas, an almost exclusively Spanish town, 810 
yards; Cayey, with a very agreeable climate, 750 yards; Lares, with a very agree- 
able climate, 540 yards; Utuado, with a very agreeable climate, 480 yards; Muricao, 
an exclusively Spanish town, 480 yards. To ascend to all these towns there are 
very good wagon roads. There are no fortifications of any kind in them, but they 
are surrounded on all sides by mountains. 

Hydrography. — Few countries of the extent of Porto Eico are watered by so 
many streams. Seventeen rivers, taking their rise in the mountains, cross the val- 
leys of the north coast and empty into the sea. Some of these are navigable 2 or 3 
leagues from their mouths for schooners and small coasting vessels. Those of 
Manati, Loisa, Trabajo, and Arecibo are very deep and broad, and it is difficult to 
imagine how such large bodies of water can be collected in so short a course. Owing 
to the heavy surf which continually breaks on the north coast, these rivers have bars 
across their embouchures which do not allow large vessels to enter. The rivers of 
Bayamo and Eio Piedras flow into the harbor of the capital, and are also navigable 
for boats. At high water small brigs may enter the river of Arecibo with perfect 
safety and discharge their cargoes, notwithstanding the bar which crosses its mouth. 

The rivers of the north coast have a decided advantage over those of the south 
coast, where the climate is drier and the rains less frequent. Nevertheless, the 
south, west, and east coasts are well supplied with water; and, although in some 
seasons it does not rain for ten, and sometimes twelve months on the south coast, 
the rivers are never entirely dried up. 



388 CUBA AND POKTO RICu. 

From the Cabeza de San Juan, which is the northeast extremity of the island, 
to the cape of Mala Pascua, which lies to the southeast, 9 rivers fall into the sea. 

From Cape Mala Pascua to Point Aguila, which forms the southwest angle of 
the island, 16 rivers discharge their waters on the south coast. 

On the west coast 3 rivers, 5 rivulets, and several fresh-water lakes communicate 
with the sea. In the small extent of 330 leagues of area there are 46 rivers, besides a 
countless number of rivulets and branches of navigable water. 

The rivers of the north coast are stocked with delicious fish, some of them large 
enough to weigh two quintals. 

From the river of Arecibo to that of Manati, a distance of 5 leagues, a fresh-water 
lagoon, perfectly navigable for small vessels through the whole of its extent, runs- 
parallel to the sea at about a mile from the shore. 

In the fertile valley of Anasco, on the western coast, there is a canal formed 
by nature, deep and navigable. None of the rivers are of real military importance;, 
for, though considering the shortness of their course, they attain quite a volume,, 
still it is not sufficient for good-sized vessels. 

The rivers empt3dng on the north coast are Loisa, Aguas Prietas, Arecibo, Baya- 
mon, Camuy, Cedros, Grande, Guajataca de la Tuna, Lesayas, Loquillo, Manati,. 
Rio Piedras, Sabana, San Martin, Sibuco, Toa, and Vega. 

Those emptying on the east coast are Candelero, Dagua, Fajardo, Guayanes^ 
Majogua, and Maonabo. 

On the south coast: Aquamanil, Caballon, Cana, Coamo, Descalabrado, Guanica, 
Guayama, Guayanilla, Jacagua, Manglar, Penuela, Ponce and Vigia. 

On the west coast: Aguada, Boqueron, Cajas, Culebrina, Chico, Guanajibo,. 
Mayagiiez, and Rincon. 

The limits of the Loisa river are: On the east, the sierra of Luquillo (situated 
near the northeast corner of the island); on the south, the sierra of Cayey, and 
on the west, ramifications of the latter. It rises in the northern slopes of the sierra 
of Cayey, and, running in a northwest direction for the first half of its course and 
turning to northeast in the second half, it arrives at Loisa, a port on the northern 
coast, where it discharges its waters into the Atlantic. During the first part of its 
course it is known by the name of Cayagua. 

The Sabana river has, to the east and south, the western and southern limits 
of the preceding river, and on the west the Sierra Grande, or De Barros, which is- 
situated in the center of the general divide, or watershed. It rises in the sierra of 
Cayey, and, with the name of Pinones river, it flows northwest, passing through Ai- 



CUBA AND POETO EICO 38^ 

bonito, Toa Alta, Toa Baja^ and Dorado, wliere it discharges into the Atlantic to 
the west of the preceding river. 

The Manati river is bounded on the cast and south by the Sierra Gi:ande and 
on the west by the Sialep ridge. It rises in the Sierra Grande, and parallel with 
the preceding river, i<" "^ow ihrough Siales and Manati, to the north of which latter 
town it empties into the Atlantic. 

The Arecibo river is bounded on the east by the Siales mountain ridge, on the 
south by the western extremity of the Sierra Grande, and on the west by the X^ares- 
ridge. It rises in the general divide, near Adjuntas, and flows north through the 
town of Arecibo to the Atlantic, shortly before emptying into which it receives the 
Tanama river from the left, which proceeds from the Lares Mountains. 

The Culebrina river is bounded on the south and east by the Lares mountain 
ridge, and on the north by small hills of little interest. From the Lares Mountains 
it flows from east to west and empties on the west coast north of San Francisco de la 
Aguada, in the center of the bay formed between Point Penas Blancas and Point 
San Francisco. 

The Anasco river is formed by the Lares mountain ridge. It rises in the eastern 
extremity of the mountains called Tetas de Cerro Gordo, flowing first northwest 
and then west, through the town of its name and thence to the sea. 

The Guanajivo river has to its north the ramifications of the Lares ridge, ta 
the east the Tetas de Cerro Gordo Mountains, and on the south Torre Hill. In 
the interior of its basin is tlie mountain called Cerro Montuoso, which separates 
its waters from those of tis affluent from the right, the Eosaria river. It rises in the 
general divide, flowing from east to west to Nuestra Senora de Montserrat, where 
it receives the affluent mentioned, the two together then emptying south of Port 
Mayaguez. 

The Coamo river is bounded on the west and north by the Sierra Grande, 
and on the west by the Coamo ridge. It rises in the former of these sierras, and 
flowing from north to south it empties east of Coamo Point, after having watered the- 
town of its name. 

The Salinas river is bounded on the west by the Coamo ridge, on the north by 
the general divide, and on the east by the Cayey ridge. It rises in the southern 
slopes of the Sierra Grande and flowing from north to south through Salinas de 
Coamo, empties into the sea. 

Coasts, Harbors, Bays, and Coves. — The northern coast extends in an almost 
straight line from east to west, and is high and rugged. The only harbors it has 



:390 CUBA AXD POETO EICO. 

are the following: San Juan de Porto Eico, surrounded by mangrove swamps and 
protected by the Cabras and the Cabritas islands and some very dangerous banks; 
the anchoring ground of Arecibo, somewhat unprotected; and the coves of Cangrejos 
^nd Condado. During the months of November, December, and January^ when 
the wind blows with violence from the east and northeast, the anchorage is danger- 
ous in all the bays and harbors of this coast, except in the port of San Juan. Ves- 
sels are often obhged to put to sea on the menacing aspect of the heavens at this sea- 
-son, to avoid being driven on shore by the heavy squalls and the rolling waves of a 
boisterous sea, which propel them to destruction. During the remaining months 
the ports on this coast are safe and commodious, unless when visited by a hurricane, 
against whose fury no port can offer a shelter, nor any vessel be secure. The ex- 
cellent port of San Juan is perfectly sheltered from the effects of the north wind. 
The hill, upon which the town of that name and the fortifications w^hich defend it 
are built, protects the vessels anchored in the harbor. The entrance of this port 
is narrow, and requires a pilot; for the canal which leads to the anchorage, although 
deep enough for vessels of any dimensions, is very narrow, which exposes them to 
run aground. This port is several miles in extent, and has the advantage of having 
deep canals to the east, among a wood of mangrove trees, where vessels are perfectly 
secure during the hurricane months. Vessels of 250 tons can at present unload 
and take in their cargoes at the wharf. Harbor improvements have been recently 
made here. 

On the northwest and west are the coves of Aguadilla, the town of this name 
being some 4 kilometers inland. There are the small coves of Eincon, Anasco, and 
Mayaguez, the latter being protected and of sufficient depth to anchor vessels of mod- 
erate draft; the harbor of Eeal de Cabo Eojo, nearly round, and entered by a narrow 
channel; and the cove of Boqueron. The spacious bay of Aguadilla is formed by 
Cape Borrigua and Cape San Francisco. When the north-northwest and southwest 
winds prevail it is not a safe anchorage for ships. A heavy surf rolling on the shore 
obliges vessels to seek safety by putting to sea on the appearance of a north wind. 
Mayaguez is also an open roadstead form^ed by two projecting capes. It has good 
anchorage for vessels of a large size and is well sheltered from the north winds. 
The port of Cabo Eojo has also good anchorage. It is situated S. one-fourth N". 
of the point of Guanajico, at a distance of 5-J miles. Its shape is nearly circular, 
and it extends from east to west 3 to 4 miles. At the entrance it has 3 fathoms of 
water, and IG feet in the middle of the harbor. The entrance is a narrovv canal. 

The south coast abounds in bays and harbors, but is covered with mangroves 



CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 391 

and reefs, the only harbor where vessels of regular draft can enter being Guanica 
and Ponce. The former of these is the westernmost harbor on the southern 
coast, being at the same time the best, though the least visited, owing to the swamps 
and low tracts difficult to cross leading from it to the interior. The nearest towns, 
San German, Sabana Grande, and Yauco, carry on a small trade through this port. 

In the port of Guanica, vessels drawing 21 feet of water may enter with perfect 
safety. Its entrance is about 100 yards wide, and it forms a spacious basin, com- 
pletely landlocked. The vessels may anchor close to the shore. It has, in the whole 
extent, from GJ to 3 fathoms, the latter depth being formed in the exterior of the 
port. The entrance is commanded by two small hills on either side, which if mounted 
with a few pieces of artillery would defy a squadron to force it. This port would be 
of immense advantage in time of war. The national vessels and coasters would thus- 
have a secure retreat from an enemy's cruiser on the south coast. There are nO' 
wharves, but vessels could disembark troops by running alongside the land and run- 
ning out a plank. Coamo Cove and Aguirre and Guayama are also harbors. The 
port of Jovos, near Guayama, is a haven of considerable importance. It is a large 
and healthy place, and the most Ipanish of any city on the island after San Juan. 
There are good roads to the capital. Vessels of the largest kind may anchor and 
ride in safety from the winds, and the whole British navy would find room in its 
spacious bosom. It has 4 fathoms of water in the shallowest part of the entrance. 
However, it is difficult to enter this port from June to November, as the sea breaks 
with violence at the entrance, on account of the southerly winds which reign at that 
season. It has every convenience of situation and locality for forming docks for the 
repair of shipping. The large bay of Anasco, on the south coast, affords anchorage 
to vessels of all sizes. It is also safe from the north winds. Although on the eastern 
coast there are many places for vessels to anchor, yet none of them are exempt 
from danger during the north winds except Fajardo, where a safe anchorage is to 
be found to leeward of two little islands close to the bay, where vessels are completely 
sheltered. 

The island of Vieques has also several commodious ports and harbors, where 
vessels of the largest size may ride at anchor. 

On the east coast is Cape Cabeza de San Juan, Points Lima, Candeleros, and Nar- 
anjo, and Cape Mala Pascua; on the south coast, Point Viento, Tigueras, Corchones, 
Arenas, Fama or Maria, Cucharas, Guayanilla, Guanica, and Morillos de Cabo Rojo; 
on the west coast, points San Francisco, Cadena, Guanijito, Guaniquilla, and Pala 

Seco. 



^92 CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 

Highways. — There are few roads or ways of communication which are worthy of 
^mention, with the exception of the broad pilve which starts from the capital and 
runs along the coast^ passing through the following towns: Aguadilla, Bayamon, 
-Cabo Rojo^ Humacao, Juana Diaz^ Mayaguez^ Ponce,. and San German. It has no 
bridges; is good in dry weather, but in the rainy season is impassible for wagons and 
even at times for horsemen. 

Por interior communication there are only a few local roads or paths. They 
are usually 2 yards in width, made by the various owners, and can not be well trav- 
^eled in rainy weather. They are more properly horse and mule trails, and oblige 
people to go in single file. In late years much has been attempted to improve 
the highways connecting the principal cities, and more has been accomplished 
than in Spanish colonies. There is a good made road connecting Ponce on the 
southern coast with San Juan the capital. Other good roads also extend for a short 
distance along the north coast and along the south coast. The road from Guayama 
is also said to be a passably good one. 

There are in the islaixd about 150' miles of excellent road, and this is all that re- 
ceives any attention, transportation being effected elsewhere on horse back. In,- the 
construction of a road level foundation is sought, and on this is put a heavy layer 
of crushed rock and brick, which, after having been well packed and rounded, is cov- 
ered with a layer of earth. This is well packed also, and upon the whole is spread a 
layer of ground limestone, which is pressed and rolled until it forms almost a glossy 
surface. This makes an excellent road here where the climate is such that it does 
not affect it, and when there is no heaA^y traffic, but these conditions being changed, 
the road, it is thought, v\^ould not stand so well. 

Prom Palo Seco, situated about a mile and a half from the capital, on the op- 
posite side of the bay, a carriage road, perfectly level, has been constructed for a 
distance of 22 leagues to the town of Aguadilla on the west coast, passing through 
the towns of Vegabaja, Manati, Arecibo, Hatillo, Camuy, and Isabella. This road 
has been carried for several leagues over swampy lands, which are intersected by 
deep drains to carry off the water. 

The road from Aguadilla to Mayaguez is in some parts very good, in other parts 
only fair. From Aguadilla to Aguada, a distance of a league, the road is excellent 
and level. Prom thence to Mayaguez, through the village of Rincon and the town of 
Anasco, the road is generally good, but on the seashore it is sometimes interrupted 
by shelving rocks. Across the valley of Anasco the road is carried through a boggy 
tract, with bridges over several deep creeks of fresh water. Prom thence to the 



CUBA AND PORTO RICO, 393 

large commercial town of Mayaguez the road is uneven and requires some improve- 
ment. But the roads from Mayaguez and Ponce to their respective ports on the 
seashore can not be surpassed by any in Europe. They are made in a most sub- 
stantial manner, and their convex form is well adapted to preserve them from the 
destruction caused by the heavy rains of the climate. These roads have been made 
over tracts of swampy ground to the seacoast, but with little and timely repair 
they will last forever. 

A road, which may be called a carriage road, has been made from Ponce to the 
village of Adjuntas, situated 5 leagues in the interior of the mountains. The road 
along the coast, from Ponce to Guayama, is fairly good; from thence to Patillas 
there is an excellent carriage road for a distance of 3 leagues; from the latter place 
to the coast is a high road well constructed. From Patillas to Fajardo, on the eastern 
coast, passing through the towns of Maimavo, Yubacao, Humacao, and Naguabo, thtt 
roads are not calculated for wheel vehicles, in consequence of being obliged to ascend 
and descend several steep hills. That which crosses the mountain of Mala Pascaa, 
dividing the north and east coasts, is a good and solid road, upon which a person 
on horseback may travel with great ease and safety. The road crossing the valley of 
Yubacao, which consists of a soft and humid soil, requires more attention than that 
crossing the mountain of Mala Pascua, which has a fine, sandy soil. 

From Fajardo to the capital, through the towns of Luquillo, Loisa, and Rio 
Piedras, the road is tolerably good for persons on horseback as far as Rio Pie- 
dras, and from thence to the city of San Juan, a distance of 2 leagues, is an ex- 
cellent carriage road, made by the order and under the inspection of the Captain- 
General, part of it through a mangrove swamp. Over the river Loisa is a handsome 
wooden bridge, and on the road near Rio Piedras is a handsome stone one over a 
deep rivulet. 

One of the best roads in the island extends from the town of Papino, situated in 
the mountains, to the town of Aguadilla on the coast, distant 5J leagues, through the 
village of La Moca; in the distance of 8 leagues from the latter place, it is crossed 
by 10 deep mountain rivulets, formerly impassable, but over which solid bridges 
have now been built, with side railings. In the mountainous district within the cir- 
cumference of a few leagues no less than 47 bridges have been built to facilitate 
the communication between one place and the other. 

The following are the roads of 6 meters width, 4J in center of pounded stone. 
They have iron bridges and are in good shape for travel all the year. 

(1) San Juan to the Shore near Ponce. — From San Juan to Ponce the central 



394 CUBA AND POETO EICO. 

road is exactly 134 kilometers. Distances along the line are: Rio Piedras, II* 
Cagiias, 25; to Cayei, 24; Aybonito, 20; Coamo, 18; Juana Diaz, 20; to Ponce, 
13; and to the shore, 3. Exact. 

. (2) San Juan to Bayamon. — By ferry fifteen minutes to Catano, and from there 
by road to Bayamon 10 kilometers. This passes alongside the railway. 

(3) Eio Piedras to Mameyes, 36 kilometers; from Eio Piedras to Carolina, 1^; 
to Eio Grande, 19; to Mameyes, 5. 

(4) Cayei to Arroyo, 35 kilometers; from Cayei to Guayama, 25; to Arroyo, 8; 
from San Juan to Arroyo, via Cayei, is 95 kilometers. 

(5 Ponce to Adjuntas, 32 kilometers. 

(6) San German to Anasco, 33 kilometers; from San German to Mayaguez, 21 
kilometers; Mayaguez to Anasco, 12; Mayaguez to MormiguerOs, 11; Mayaguez to 
Cabo Eojo, 18; Mayaguez to Las Marias, 23; Mayaguez to Maricao, 35; Hor- 
migueras to San German, 14. Near Mayaguez the roads are best. There are good 
roads in all directions. 

(7) Aguadilla to San Sebastian, 18, 

(8) Arecibo to Utuado, 33. 

Highways of first class in the island, 335 kilometers. 

Along these roads are, at a distance of 8 to 10 kilometers, a fort, stone, an5 
brick barracks, or large buildings, where the Spanish troops stop and rest when 
on the march. 

Eailroads. — In 1878 a report was presented to the minister of the colonies on a 
study made by the engineer and head of public works of the island in view of con- 
structing a railroad which should start from the capital and, passing through all 
the chief towns and through the whole island, return to the point of departure. 

Of this railroad the following parts have been completed: San Juan, along 
the coast through Eio Piedras, Bayamon, Dorado, Arecibo, and Hatillo, to Camuy; 
Aguadilla, through Aguado, Eincon, Anasco, and Mayaguez, to Hornigueros. A 
branch of this railroad from Anasco, through San Sebastian, to Lares. Ponce, 
through Gua3'anilla, to Yauco. This latter railroad follows the southern coast line 
and is followed by a wagon road throughout its course. In one place the railroad and 
road run within a few hundred yards of the coast line. According to the Statesman's 
Year Book for 1898 there are in operation 137 miles of railroad, besides over 170 
miles under construction. 

All the railroads are single track, and the gauge is 1 meter 20 centimeters, or 3 
feet llj inches. 



CUBA AND PORTO RICO. 395 

The following are the railways of 1-meter gauge: 

(1) San Juan to Rio Piedras, 11 kilometers. 

(2) Catano to Bayamon, 10 kilometers. 

(3) Anasco to San Sebastian and Lares, 35 kilometers. 
Total of three lines, 56 kilometers.- 

The lines are all in good shape; have plenty of engines and cars; speed, 20 kil- 
limeters per hour; use coal for fuel imported from the United States; supply usually 
large, may be small now; hard coal; fine stations; plenty of water, and everything 
in shape for business. 

Telegraphs. — The capital communicates with the principal towns of the coast and 
interior by means of a well-connected telegraph system. There are in all some 470 
miles of telegraph. 

Telephones. — The British Consular Report says that the telephone system of San 
Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez have recently been contracted for by local syndicates. 
In Ponce a United States company obtained the contract for the material. There 
are 100 stations already connected, and it is expected that 200 more will be in opera- 
tion shortly. 

Administration. — From an administrative standpoint, Porto Rico is not con- 
sidered as a colony, but as a province of Spain, assimilated to the remaining prov- 
inces. The Governor-General, representing the monarchy, is at the same time Cap- 
tain-General of the armed forces. In each chief tov/n resides a military commander, 
and each town has its alcalde, or mayor, appointed by the central power. The prov- 
incial deputation is elected by popular suffrage under the same conditions as in 
Spain. The regular peace garrison is composed of about 3,000 men, and the annual 
budget amounts to some 20,000,000 pesos. 

Education. — In 1887 only one-seventh of the population could read and .write, 
but of late years progress in public instruction has been rapid. 

Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce. — In 1878 there arrived in the harbors of 
the island 1,591 vessels of different nationalities and 1,534 departed. The value of 
products imported was 14,787,551 pesos, and that of articles exported was 13,070,- 
020 pesos. The following are the relative percentages of values: 

Flags. Relation. 

Per Cent. 

Spanish 49.91 

American 13.47 

Enghsh 21.43 

Various Nations 15.19 

Total 100.00 



396 CUBA AND POETO EICO. 

Navigation is very active, but the part the inhabitants fake in the commercial 
fleet is small. The Porto Eicans are not seagoing people. The eastern part of the 
island offers less advantage to commerce than the western, being to the windward 
and affording less shelter to vessels. 

Porto Eico has more than seventy towns and cities, of which Ponce is the most 
important. Ponce has 22,000 inhabitants, with a jurisdiction numbering 47,000. It 
is situated on the south coast of the island, on a plain, about 2 miles from the sea- 
board. It is the chief town of the judicial district of its name, and is 70 miles from 
San Juan. It is regularly built, the central part almost exclusively of brick houses., 
and the suburbs of wood. It is the residence of the military commander, and the seat 
of an official chamber of commerce. There is an appellate criminal court, besides other 
courts; 2 churches, one Protestant, said to be the only one in the Spanish West 
Indies; 2 hospitals besides the military hospital, a home of refuge for old and poor, 
2 cemeteries, 3 asylums, several casinos, 3 theaters, a market, a municipal public 
library, 3 first-class hotels, 3 barracks, a park, gas works, a perfectly equipped fire de- 
partment, a bank, thermal and natural baths, etc. Commercially, Ponce is the second 
eity of importance on the island. A fine road leads to the port (Playa), where all 
the import and export trade is transacted. Playa has about 5,000 inhabitants, and 
here are situated the custom house, the office of the captain of the port, and all the 
consular offices. The port is spacious and will hold vessels of 25 feet draft. The 
climate, on account of the sea breezes during the day and land breezes at night, is not 
oppressive, but very hot and dry; and, as water for all purposes, including the fire 
department, is amply supplied by an aqueduct 4,442 yards long, it is said that the 
city of Ponce is perhaps the healthiest place in the whole island. There is a stage 
coach to San Juan, Mayaguez, Guayama, etc. There is a railroad to Yauco, a post 
office, and a telegraph station. 

It is believed that Ponce was founded in 1600; it was given the title of villa in 
1848, and in 1877 that of city. Of its 34 streets the best are Mayor, Salud, Villa, 
Vivos, Marina, and Comercio. The best squares are Principal and Las Delicias, which 
are separated by the church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. The church, as old as 
the town itself, began to be reconstructed in 1838 and was finished in 1847. It is 
86 yards long by 43 broad, and has two steeples, rich altars, and fine ornaments. 

The theater is called the Pearl, and it deserves this name, for it is the finest 
on the island. It has a sculptured porch, on the Byzantine order, with very graceful 
columns. It is mostly built of iron and marble and cost over 70,000 pesos. It is 52 
yards deep by 29 wide. The inside is beautiful, the boxes and seats roomy and 



CUBA AXD PORTO RICO. 397 

nicely decorated. It may, by a mechanical arrangement, be converted into a danc- 
ing hall. 

About 1^ miles northeast of the town are the Quintana thermal baths, in a build- 
ing surrounded by pretty gardens. They are visited by sufferers from rheumatism 
and various other diseases. 

San Juan is a perfect specimen of a walled town, wdth portcullis, moat, gates, 
and battlements. The wall surrounding this town is defended by several batteries. 
Facing the harbor are those of San Fernando, Santa Catalina, and Santa Toribio. 
Looking toward the land side is Fort i^banico, and toward the ocean the batteries of 
San Antonio, San Jose, and Santa Teresa, and Fort Princesa. The land part has 
two ditches, or cuts, which are easy to inundate. The fort and bridge of San Antonio 
that of San Geronimo, and the Escambron battery situated on a tongue of land 
which enters the sea. Built over two hundred and fifty years ago, the city is still 
in good condition and repair. The walls are picturesque, and represent a stupendous 
work and cost in themselves. Inside the walls the city is laid off in regular squares, 
six parallel streets running in the direction of the length of the island and seven at 
right angles. 

The peninsula on which San Juan is situated is connected with the mainland by 
three bridges. The oldest, that of San Antonio, carries the highway across the 
shallow San Antonio Channel. It is a stone-arched bridge about 350 yards long 
including the approaches. By the side of this bridge is one for the railroad and 
one for the tramway which follows the main military highway to Rio Piedras. 

Among the buildings the following are notable: The palace of the Captain- 
Oeneral, the palace of the intendencia, the town hall, military hospital, jail, Ballaja 
barracks, theater, custom house, cathedral. Episcopal palace, and seminary. There 
is no university or provincial institute of second grade instruction, and only one 
college, which is under the direction of Jesuit priests. The houses are closely and 
compactly built of brick, usually of two stories, stuccoed on the outside and painted 
in a variety of colors. The upper floors are occupied by the more respectable people, 
while the ground floors, almost without exception, are given up to the negroes and 
the poorer class, who crowd one upon another in the most appalling manner. 

The population within the walls is estimated at 20,000 and most of it lives on 
the ground floor. In one small room, with a flimsy partition, a whole family will 
reside. The ground floor of the whole town reeks with filth, and conditions are 
most unsanitary. In a tropical country, where disease readily prevails, the conse- 
quences of such herding may be easily inferred. There is no running water in the 



3^ CUBA AND PORTO EICO. 

town. The entire population depend upon rain water, caught upon the flat roofs 
of the buildings and conducted to the cistern, which occupies the greater part of 
the inner court-yard that is an essential part of Spanish houses the world over, 
feut that here, on account of the crowded conditions, is very small. There is no 
sewerage, except for surface water and sinks, while vaults are in every house and 
©Ocupy whatever remaining space there may be in the patios not taken up by the 
cisterns. The risk of contaminating the water is very great, and in dry seasons 
the supply is entirely exhausted. Epidemics are frequent, and the town is alive 
with vermin, fleas, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and dogs. 

The streets are wider than in the older part of Havana, and will admit two car- 
mges abreast. The sidewalks are narrow, and in places will accommodate but 
#ne person. The pavements are of a composition manufactured in England from 
&lag, pleasant and even, and durable when no heavy strain is brought to bear upon 
them, but easily broken, and unfit for heavy traffic. The streets are swept once a 
day by hand, and, strange to say, are kept very clean. 

From its topographical situation the town should be healthy, but it is not. The 
soil under the city is clay mixed with lime, so hard as to be almost like rock. It is 
'consequently impervious to water and furnishes a good natural drainage. 

The trade wind blows strong and fresh, and through the harbor runs a stream 
©f sea water at a speed of not less than three miles an hour. With these conditions 
no contagious diseases, if properly taken care of, could exist; without them the place 
would be a veritable plague spot. 

Besides the town within the walls there are small portions just outside, called 
t^e Marina and Puerta de Tierra, containing two or three thousand inhabitants 
each. There are also two suburbs, one, San Turce, approached by the only road 
leading out of the city, and the other, Catano, across the bay, reached by ferry. 
The Marina and the two suburbs are situated on sandy points or spits, and the 
latter are S'Urrounded by mangrove swamps. 

The entire population of the city and suburbs, according to the census of 1887, 
was 27,000. It is now (1896) estimated at 30,000. One-half of the population con- 
sists of negroes and mixed races. 

There is but little manufacturing, and it is of small importance. The Standard 
Oil Company has a small refinery across the bay, in which crude petroleum brought 
from the United States is refined. Matches are made, some brooms, a little soap, 
and a cheap class of trunks. There are also ice, gas, and electric light works. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE LADROXES. 

The Island of Guam a Coaling Station of the United States — Discovery, Size and 
Products of the Islands. 

When the Philippine expeditioji on its way to Manila incidentally ran up the 
Stars and Stripes over the Island of Guam, there was perhaps no thought of the 
island becoming a permanent part of our domain. However, the fortunes of war are 
such that the island is likely to become ours permanently as a coaling station in the 
Pacific. 

Magellan named these islands the Ladrones from the Latin word "latro/' mean- 
ing a robber, because of the thievish propensities of the natives. According to 
Magellan's reports, the native people of these islands had reduced stealing to a 
science of such exactness that the utmost vigilance could not prevail against their 
operations. The group was named the Mariana Islands by the Jesuits, who settled 
in them in 1667. 

The Ladrone group consists of twenty islands, of which five are inhabited. The 
group extends forty-five miles from north to south, and is located between 13 deg. 
and 21 deg. north latitude, and between 144 deg. and 146 deg. east longitude. The 
principal islands are Guam, Rota and Linian. They were discovered by Magellan in 
1521, and have belonged to Spain ever since. Their population is 11,000. The soil 
is fertile and densely wooded. The climate is temperate. 

. Guam, the southernly and principal island, is 100 miles in circumference, and 
has a population of 8,100, of which 1,400 are Europeans. Its central part is moun- 
tainous, and it has a small volcano. The products are guacas, bananas, cocoa, 
oranges and limes. The natives are noted as builders of the most rapidly sailing 
canoes in the world. 

With Guam as a part of the territory of the United States, we have a direct line 
of possessions across the Pacific, in the order of Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines; 
while in a northwesterly direction from our Pacific coast we have the islands forming 
a part of Alaska. By holding all these islands we will be prepared to control prac- 
ticall} the commerce of the Pacific, the future great commercial highway of the 
world. 



399 



400 



Q 6/\Bl/Jfi.N t^ 




WAS/L^/l 



OB- 



4^. 



o 
O 

CD 



cu 

^' 
o 



ft 

;^ 

m 

£ I 



o 



P^ 

- cu- 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE OFFICIAL TITLE TO OUR NEW POSSESSIONS IN THE INDIES. 

Full Text of the Treaty of Peace with Spain Handed the President of the United 
States as a Christmas Gift for the People, at the White House, 1898— The 
Gathered Fruit of a Glorious and Wonderful Victory. 

On an August midnight the good ship Peru, Major-General Otis with his staff 
and General Hughes, and a thousand regular cavalry and "the historian of the 
Philippines'' aboard, approached within a few miles, an immense mass of darkness. 
About where the mouth of Manila Bay should be there was, deep in the east and 
at a considerable elevation, a .spark of white, and in a few seconds a red light, 
keener than stars, and in half a minute there were the sharp flashes again, and we 
knew that there were friends watching and waiting — that "our flag was still there," 
that Admiral Dewey and General Merritt of the Navy and Army of the United 
States had upheld* the symbol of the sovereignty of the Great Republic of North 
America, that the lights glowed down from the massive rock of Corregidor, that 
through the shadows that fell on these darksome waters the American squadron had 
entered into immortality less than four months before, and that with the morning 
light we should look upon the famous scene of triumphant Americanism. We 
had been fifteen days out of the woiid, for there were only the southern constellations 
to tell us, the southern cross so high and the north star so low, and the dazzling 
scorpion with diamond claws touching the central blue dome, to say how far down 
into the tropics we were, while the clouds of flame rested on the serenities of the 
matchless sea; and what had the grea-t deep in its mysterious resplendence been 
whispering along the enchanting shores of the islands of Asia — the true Indies, 
Oriental or Occidental as might be — what had the wild waves that beat against 
the volcanic coasts made known in the boats wafted by the welcoming winds? We 
knew of the bloody days on the hills of Santiago, and the fate of the fleet of Admiral 
Cervera, and there must be news of other victories! Our ship turned away from the 
looming rock that sent forth flashes as if to say all is well, in the universe that we in 
our vast adventure had almost abandoned. And when the day dawned and the 
green hills and blue mountains and the silvery waters were revealed we turned to 
the left, where Dewey led his squadron to the right, and there was the bay 
hundred and twenty knots in circumference. Yonder were the white walls o£ 

401 



402 OFFICIAL TITLE TO OUK NEW POSSESSIONS IN THE INDIES. 

Cavite, and further along domes and steeples, masts and heavy lines of buildings, a 
wide spread city crouching on a plain rising a few feet above the tides. It was 
Manila. Presently a boat swept near, and what was that, a dozen words repeated 
here and there — Merritt in possession of the city — of course, that was what he was 
there for, — but who said "there was a declaration of peace?" The strange statement 
was made. What — could it be that Spain had surrendered? Surely the President 
would not stop pushing things until he had gathered the fruits of victory? No, there 
was a protocol, and that was a treaty in fact! France had been the medium of 
negotiation. Spain had sued for peace, and terms were granted. Cuba was sur- 
rendered. Porto Eico was ceded to us. The Spaniards claimed that they had given 
up Manila after peace was settled, and they must repossess it. But Merritt was ashore 
was he not, and going to stay? Dewey had not given up anything, had he? Surely 
not! But there was to be a conference, a meeting of joint commissioners held at 
Paris to provide a treaty, that was to say the details — all the important points were 
fixed irrevocably except the fate of the Philippines! At this point the 'news of the 
morning gave out, all except the particulars of the seige, the high claims of the 
Spaniards, the dissatisfaction of the insurgents. It was some days before the realiza- 
tion of the situation was perfected. The full terms of the protocol were not made 
known at once. Spain gave up the West Indies and a Ladrone island, and the 
United States was to hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila pending the conclusion 
of a treaty of peace which should determine the control, disposition and govern- 
ment of the Philippines. Certainly this was the conclusive surrender of Spain! 
General Merritt was ordered to Paris, and there represented the army of the United 
States, and its faith and honor and glory. Our Peace Commissioners were Wm. E. 
Day, Cushman K. Davis, William P. Frye, George Gray and Whitelaw Eeid, who 
started for Paris September 18. The Spanish Commissioners made a long struggle, 
and protracted their unhappy task for more than two months, using all arts of 
procrastination and persuasion, claiming that the United States should pay the 
Cuban debt, and striving for allowances of indemnity, yielding at last to the in- 
evitable. The text of the treaty is in seventeen articles as follows: 

Article I. — Spain renounces all right of sovereignty over Cuba. Whereas said isle 
when evacuated by Spain is to be occupied by the United States, the United States, 
(v^hile the occupation continues, shall take upon themselves and fulfill the obligations 
which, by the fact of occupation, international law imposes on them for the protec- 
tion of life and property. 

Article II.— Spain cedes to the United States the Island of Porto Eico and the 
other islands now under her sovereignty in the West Indies and the Isle of Guam in 
the archipelago of the Marianas or Ladrones. 



OFFICIAL TITLE TO OUR NEW POSSESSIONS IN TJIE INDIES. 4^ 3 

Article III. — Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the 
Philippine Islands, which comprise the islands situated betw^een the following lines: 
A line which runs west to east near the twentieth parallel of north latitude across 
the center of the navigable canal of Bachi, from the 118th to the 127th degrees of 
longitude east of Greenwich, from here to the width of the 127th degree of longitude 
east to parallel 4 degrees 45 minutes of north latitude. From here following the 
parallel of north latitude 4 degrees 45 minutes to its intersection wdth the meridian 
of longitude 119 degrees 35 minutes east from Greenwich. From here following the 
meridian of 119 degrees 35 minutes east to the parallel of latitude 7 degrees 40 
minutes north. From here following the parallel of 7 degrees 40 minutes north to 
its intersection with 116 degrees longitude east. From here along a straight line to 
the intersection of the tenth parallel of latitude north with the 118th meridian east, 
and from here following the 118th meridian to the point whence began this de- 
marcation. The United States shall pay to Spain the sum of $20,000,000 within 
three months after the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty. 

Article IV. — The United States shall, during the term of ten years, counting from 
the interchange of the ratifications of the treaty, admit t« the ports of the Phihppine 
Islands Spanish ships and merchandise under the same conditions as the ships and 
merchandise of the United States. 

Article V. — The United States, on the signing of the present treaty, shall trans- 
port to Spain at their cost the Spanish soldiers whom the American forces made 
prisoners of war wheii Manila was captured. The arms of these soldiers shall be re- 
turned to them. Spain, on the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, 
shall proceed to evacuate the Philippine Islands, as also Guam, on conditions similar 
to those agreed to by the commissions named to concert the evacuation of Porto 
Rico and the other islands in the Western Antilles according to the protocol of Aug. 
12, 1898, which shall continue in force until its terms have been completely complied 
with. The term within which the evacuation of the Philippine Islands and Guam 
shall be completed shall be fixed by both Governments. Spain shall retain the flags 
and stands of colors of the warships not captured, small arms, cannon of all calibers,, 
with their carriages and accessories, powders, munitions, cattle, material and elTects 
of all kinds belonging to the armies of the sea and land of Spain in the Philippines 
and Guam. The pieces of heavy caliber which are not field artillery mounted ir. 
fortifications and on the coasts shall remain in their places for a period of six months 
from the interchange of the ratifications of the present treat}^, and the United States 
may during that period buy from Spain said material if both Governments arrive at a 
satisfactory agreement thereon. 

Article VI. — Spain, on signing the present treaty, shall place at liberty all 



404 OFFICIAL TITLE TO OLE NEW POSSESSIONS IN THE INDIES. 

prisoners of war and all those detained or imprisoned for political offences in conse- 
quence of the insurrections in Cuba and the Phihppines and of the war with the 
United States. Reciprocally the United States shall place at liberty all prisoners 
of war made by the American forces, and shall negotiate for the liberty of all 
Spanish prisoners in the power of the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines. The 
Government of the United States shall transport, at their cost, to Spain, and the 
Government of Spain shall transport, at its cost, to the United States, Cuba, Porto 
Rico and the Philippines, conformably to the situation of their respective dwellings, 
the prisoners placed or to be placed at liberty in virtue of this article. 

Article YII. — Spain and the LTnited States mutually renounce by the present 
treaty all claim to national or private indemnity, of whatever kind, of one Govern- 
ment against the other, or of their subjects or citizens against the other Government, 
which may have arisen from the beginning of the last insurrection in Cuba, anterior 
to the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, as also to all indemnity as 
regards costs occasioned by the war. The LTnited States shall judge and settle the 
claims of its citizens against Spain which she renounces in this article. 

Article VIII. — In fulfilment of Articles I., II. and III. of this treaty Spain 
renounces in Cuba and cedes in Porto Rico and the other West Indian isles, in 
Guam and . the Philippine archipelago, all buildings, moles, barracks, fortresses, 
establishments, public roads and other real property which by custom or right are 
of the public domain, and as such belong to the crown of Spain. Nevertheless, it 
is declared that this renouncement or cession, as the case may be, referred to in 
the previous paragraph, in no way lessens the property or rights which belong by 
custom or law to the peaceful possessor of goods of all kinds in the provinces and 
cities, public or private establishments, civil or ecclesiastical corporations or whatever 
bodies have judicial personality to acquire and possess goods in the above-mentioned, 
renounced or ceded territories, and those of private individuals, whatever be their 
nationality. 

The said renouncement or cession includes all those documents which exclusively 
refer to said renounced or ceded sovereignty which exist in the archives of the 
peninsula. When these documents existing in said archives only in part refer 
to said sovereignty, copies of said part shall be supplied, provided they be requested. 
Similar rules are to be reciprocally observed in favor of Spain with respect to the 
documents existing in the archives of the before-mentioned islands. In the above- 
mentioned renunciation or cession are comprised those rights of the crown of Spain 
and of its authorities over the archives and official registers, as well administrative 
as judicial, of said islands which refer to them and to tVi* rights and properties of 
their inhabitants. Said archives and registers must be refully preserved, and all 



OFFICIAL TITLE TO OUR XEW POSSESSIONS IX THE INDIES. 405 

individuals, without exception, shall have the right to obtain, conformably to law, 
authorized copies of contracts, wills and other documents which form part of 
notarial protocols or which are kept in administrafive and judicial archives, whether 
the same be in Spain or in the islands above mentioned. 

Article IX. — Spanish subjects, natives of the peninsula, dwelling in the territory 
whose sovereignty Spain renounces or cedes in the present treaty, may remain in 
said territory or leave it, maintaining in one or the other case all their rights of 
property, including the right to sell and dispose of said property or its produces; and, 
moreover, they shall retain the right to exercise their industry, business or pro- 
fession, submitting themselves in this respect to the laws which are applicable to 
other foreigners. In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their 
Spanish nationality by making in a registry office, within a year after the interchange 
of the ratifications of this treaty, a declaration of their intention to preserve said 
nationality. Failing this declaration they will be considered as having renounced 
said nationality and as having adopted that of the territory in which they may 
reside. The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories 
hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by Congress. 

Article X. — The inhabitants of the territories whose sovereignty Spain renounces 
or cedes shall have assured to them the free exercise of their religion. 

Article XL — Spaniards residing in the territories whose sovereignty Spain- cedes 
or renounces shall be subject in civil and criminal matters to the tribunals of the 
country in which they reside, conformably with the common laws which regulate 
their competence, being enabled to appear before them in the same manner and to 
employ the same proceedings as the citizens of the country to which the tribunal 
belongs must observe. 

Article XII. — Judicial proceedings pending on the interchange of the ratifica- 
tions of this treaty in the territories over which Spain renounces or cedes sovereignty 
shall be determined conformably vdth the following rules: First, sentences pro- 
nounced in civil cases between individuals or in criminal cases before the above- 
mentioned date, and against which there is no appeal or annulment conformably with 
the Spanish law, shall be considered as lasting, and shall be executed in due form bv 
competent authority in the territory within which said sentences should be carried 
out. Second, civil actions between individuals which on the aforementioned date 
have not been decided shall continue their course before the tribunal in which the 
lawsuit is proceeding or before that which shall replace it. Third, criminal actions 
pending on the aforementioned date before the supreme tribunal of Spain against 
citizens of territory which, according to this treaty, will cease to be Spanish, shall con- 
tinue under its jurisdiction until definite sentence is pronounced, but once sentence 



406 OFFICIAL TITLE TO OUE KEW POSSESSIONS IN THE INDIES. 

is decreed its execution shall be intrusted to competent authority of the place where 
the action arose. 

Article XIIL — Literary, artistic and industrial rights of property acquired by 
Spaniards in Cuba, Porto Eico, the Philippines and other territories ceded on the in- 
terchange of ratifications of this treaty shall continue to be respected. Spanish 
scientific, literary and artistic works which shall not be dangerous to public order 
in said territories shall continue entering therein with freedom from all customs 
duties for a period of ten years dating from the interchange of the ratifications of 
this treaty. 

Article XIV. — Spain may establish consular agents in the ports and places of 
the territories whose renunciation or cession are the object of this treaty. 

Article XV. — The Government of either country shall concede for a term of ten 
years to the merchant ships of the other the same treatment as regards all port dues, 
including those of entry and departure, lighthouse and tonnage dues, as it concedes 
to its own merchant ships not employed in the coasting trade. This article may be 
repudiated at any time by either Government giving previous notice thereof six 
months beforehand. 

Article XVL — Be it understood that whatever obligaiion is accepted under this 
treaty by the United States wdth respect to Cuba is limited to the period their 
occupation of the island shall continue, but at the end of said occupation they will 
advise the Government that may be established in the island that it should accept 
the same obligations. 

Article XVII. — The present treaty shall be ratified by the Queen Kegent of 
Spain and the President of the United States, in agreement and with the approval of 
the Senate, and ratifications shall be exchanged in Washington within a period of 
six months from this date or earlier if possible. 

The treat} of peace will be ratified by the Senate. It appears before ratification, 
as was the case of the protocol, through the favor of the French translations. The 
treaty fitly crowns the triumphs of the war. The payment of the small indemnity 
of twenty million dollars only covers at a reasonable estimate the public property of 
Spain, in territory ceded to us, that was beyond the lines of the areas that formally 
submitted to our arms. 



